One of the biggest stories of the '90s is finally coming to the TV screen in FX's The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, premiering on Tuesday night. The murder trial of actor and former football player Simpson captivated the country for almost a year in 1995. With the backstory of his trial hitting the screen, what does O.J. Simpson think of American Crime Story ? There hasn't been any word from Simpson directly — after being acquitted for the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman, Simpson was convicted of robbery in Las Vegas and sentenced to 33 years in prison. But others close to him have revealed what his thoughts are about the miniseries, in which he is played by Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr.
The U.K.'s Daily Mail reported that an unnamed "prison friend" of Simpson shared what the former NFL star has thinks about American Crime Story, though we must take this unconfirmed claim with a grain of salt. "O.J. is mad because he is being ignored," said the unnamed source to Daily Mail. "He says they have created this soap-opera based on what other people are saying and what has been falsely reported in the papers, but nobody had the b***s to talk to him." Actually, Gooding claims that he chose not to contact Simpson by choice, wanting to portray Simpson without bias, the Oscar-winner told the New York Post. "I didn’t reach out to [Simpson’s] kids," Gooding said. "I didn’t reach out to him. I didn’t want a definitive opinion of his guilt or innocence."
But it also turns out Simpson is having a hard time in prison. According an interview with People, Simpson's former business manager Norman Pardo claimed that the former athlete allegedly now barely speaks to his own family and suffers from diabetes in jail. Simpson has found some solace in playing fantasy football, according to Pardo. But when it comes to American Crime Story, Pardo told People that Simpson will most likely watch it. "He'll say, 'I'm not watching that. I'm not watching that,'" Pardo claimed. "But he always does. I'm sure he'll watch it because he watches everything about him."
Images: FX; Ray Mickshaw/FX
