In a statement published on the Drudge Report Thursday evening and printed in the New York Post this morning, publisher Judith Regan describes her own motivation for deciding to publish O.J. Simpson’s forthcoming book in which he reportedly hypothesizes on how he could have murdered his former wife and her friend in 1994. She claims to have been a victim of domestic abuse herself, and says the book will help her acheive “closure.” In one part of the statement, Regan reproduces the Act of Contrition, hoping to compel Simpson and others guilty of domestic abuse to “do penance.”
“In the past few days, since the announcement of the forthcoming book and televised interview If I Did It, it has been strange watching the media spin the story,” writes Regan. “They have all but called for my death for publishing his book and for interviewing him. A death, I might add, not called for when Katie Couric interviewed him.”
Bloggers, many of whom have already voiced indignation at Regan, Harper Collins, and Fox, are not easily won over by the apparent righteousness of Regan’s intentions. “Look, I’m very sorry for the personal pain and suffering Regan has endured and overcome,” writes Michelle Malkin. “But why that justifies victimizing the Brown and Goldman families all over again, humiliating Nicole Simpson’s two surviving, troubled children further, and distracting this already distracted country from the nationwide and global threats we face today is beyond me. It makes no sense–though it will make plenty of cents. You wanna make money and attract eyeballs by putting on a vulgar, sweeps-week O.J. freak show? Go ahead. But don’t dress it up as public interest journalism, or a historically significant probe “to gain insight into the mind of a sociopath,” or a noble search for truth that adds something worthwhile to public discourse. This new spectacle adds nothing.” “[Regan] defends her decision to profit off of murder and suffering by telling a long sob story about how she, too, was the victim of spousal abuse,” writes Gawker. “So try to follow the twisted logic here: Judith Regan is shoring up her position as an “advocate for women who have been victimized” (uh, except for the ones who’ve worked for her) by extracting a hedgy, if-I-did-it confession that will be ‘duh’ news to everyone. Also, If I Did It is a historical document, like Mein Kampf. Well, we’re totally buying it! Blechh.”
Dick Mac resorts to personal attacks:
“You are lower than low. You work for an organization like Harper Collins and you think we are supposed to think you have integrity? You are worse than O.J.! At least his was a crime of passion, yours is a crime of pure avarice at the expense of a dead woman and her family. And then you feign victimization as an excuse for your avarice?…How dare you besmirch the victimization of so many battered and murdered women by pretending that you did this to avenge a perpetrator. You needed closure from the abusive men in your life? When we need closure, we do not do it at the expense of others!”
One blogger took a different approach though, reaching out to Regan and expressing concern over her psychological condition.
“Girlfriend, you need some professional help,” writes George Gasperson of The Way I See It. “You are carrying around a dumptruck full of bitterness, unresolved issues, and hatred toward the men in your past. If you have some personal issues to address, then please do it in a way that doesn’t drag down our society while you’re at it. How self-centered can you be? Write the man a letter and ask him to send you a confession. Call him on the phone. Go interview him, get your confession, and then go home and call a psychiatrist. But don’t publish it and drag the rest of us through your crap.”
Mark Boyer was a CJR intern.