O.J. Simpson takes his case to the Web

July 21, 2000
Web posted at: 1:19 p.m. EDT (1719 GMT)

By Daniel Sieberg
CNN.com Technology Editor

(CNN) -- When the O.J. Simpson trial riveted people to their television sets in 1995, the Web was still going through a few growing pains. It had yet to become widely accepted as a broadcast medium, restricted by early technologies and narrow bandwidth.

Now, more than five years later, Simpson is capitalizing on the ubiquitous Internet as an "unedited" forum to take questions from the public and "tell his side of the story." But the move has further incensed the families affected by the double murder and reawakened public debate over Simpson.

On July 27, Simpson promises to field queries related to his controversial court case, his football career, or anything else people are curious about when he appears live on a Web site titled AskOJ.com. It will be hosted and operated by Entertainment Network Inc., a developer best known for such sites as VoyeurDorm.com, which broadcasts the uncensored antics of seven college girls with the help of 55 cameras mounted throughout a house.

Simpson, who has rarely been interviewed since the so-called "trial of the century," will also promote the site's launch on several television shows next week, including appearances on ABC's "The View," NBC's "Today" show and Court TV.

The former Heisman Trophy winner was acquitted of murder in the criminal trial but was found liable for the 1994 deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in a subsequent civil trial.

David Marshlack, CEO and president of Entertainment Networks, said during an interview from his company's headquarters in Tampa, Florida, that he proposed the partnership to Simpson about a month ago after seeing him on Fox television discussing the idea of a lie detector test.

But Marshlack said his company got involved because it is a network capable of streaming video to thousands of Web users simultaneously, not because they are supporting Simpson's guilt or innocence.

"We're a very neutral party. Yes, we've always been a free speech advocate. But we're not forcing anybody to listen."

Simpson deserves a chance to tell his story in an unedited fashion, said Marshlack, and restricting his rights would be "censorship."

An intermediary will ask Simpson questions as they are e-mailed or received through the Internet chat. Depending on the public's response to the event, there is a possibility of future shows, and the Entertainment Network site will rebroadcast the two-hour session 24 hours a day after it is taped.

A flat fee of $9.95 will allow access to AskOJ.com through a password, and users can then submit any question they wish when the site goes live at 6 p.m. EDT.

Only two topics will be off-limits for Simpson to discuss during the chat: his two young children and any item that is specifically being appealed in the civil case, Marshlack said. But he would not comment on what those items are until Thursday's broadcast, saying he is under a strict confidentiality agreement.

In a prepared statement released by Marshlack's office, Simpson said: "People have a right to hear from me, not from some commentator sitting in a television studio who thinks he knows what really happened."

Marshlack said some of the proceeds from the Web broadcast will go to three charities: one related to services for people suffering from head trauma; a camp for children with cancer; and a group that provides pro bono assistance for inmates who are challenging their conviction based on DNA evidence. He said the rest of the money will be used to recover the production costs of the broadcast. Marshlack insisted that Simpson will not see a penny of the collected funds.

Gloria Allred, an attorney for the Brown family, said she can't understand why Simpson isn't donating the money to the victims' families or helping to pay the millions of dollars outstanding with his settlement costs. Simpson was ordered to pay the victims' families $33.5 million.

She says both families are angered and hurt by the Webcast.

"I'm very concerned, as is the family, that he's getting all this attention," Allred said. "He appears to be constantly rehabilitating his bruised and battered reputation."

And Allred said Simpson's appearance on the Web chat will be misleading to viewers expecting to learn something new or factual about the case.

"He's not going to be under oath. He's not going to be under penalty of perjury. No one will be there to rebut what he's saying," she said from her office in Santa Monica, California. "He's free to make any self-serving statement. It's preposterous to suggest there are any new facts that the American public hasn't heard yet."

While Allred acknowledged that Simpson has the right to speak, whether through the Internet or any other medium, she said she's disappointed that people might actually watch.

"I'd rather they donate their $9.95 directly to charity."

O.J. Simpson going on Internet
July 19, 2000
O.J. Simpson courtroom adversaries look back at 'trial of the century'
June 12, 2000
O.J. Simpson offers to take polygraph, with conditions
June 8, 2000
The O.J. Simpson case + 5 years: Where are they now?
June 11, 1999

AskOJ.com

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