“Borat” creator Sacha Baron Cohen paid O.J. Simpson $20,000 to appear in his new comedic film, according to a report by The Mail on Sunday.
Citing a source “close to the production,” The Mail reported that Mr. Cohen recently donned a curly dark wig and black, thick-rimmed glasses to meet Mr. Simpson in a Las Vegas hotel room.
“OJ would not even get in the hotel room until he was paid a sackload of cash,” the source said. “There was no way Sacha could have got OJ into the room without paying money.”
When approached by The Mail about the project on Friday, Mr. Simpson said: “’I know him well. I met him. Nice guy.”
He did not confirm if he had been paid.
Mr. Cohen declined to respond to The Mail’s repeated requests for comment.
Mr. Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of criminal charges that he murdered his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, but he was still found liable for their deaths and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victims’ families in a 1997 civil trial. According to reports, he’s barely made a dent in paying the judgment.
The report that Mr. Cohen paid the disgraced actor and former football star $20,000 has infuriated the victims’ families.
“Nicole and Ron are two human beings who were brutally murdered,” Brown’s sister Tanya told The Mail. “This is not a joke nor is it entertainment. If Sacha makes this a comedic effort his victims will be personified as a joke.
“Shame on him,” she added.
David Cook, a lawyer for the Goldman family, said, “If money changed hands then all of the money paid should go to Ron’s father Fred. There is a legal and moral imperative here.”
Mr. Simpson was released from jail in October after serving nine years behind bars for a 2007 armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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