While O.J. Simpson’s prank show, Juiced, never aired, viewers will get a glimpse into the project in Investigation Discovery’s O.J. Unseen: Exploitation of Evil.
“There was a mole on the crew who leaked the project to the press, and the reason they leaked it was because they felt that it was so inappropriate and irredeemable that it needed to be stopped,” director Rebecca Halpern explained exclusively to Us of the controversial reality show ahead of the project’s Monday, September 7, premiere.
Juiced was filmed more than 10 years after Simpson was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman in 1995. Simpson was taken to civil court in 1997 and found civilly liable for the wrongful death of Goldman, 25, and the battery of Brown Simpson, 35, in 1997. He was then ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages.
Halpern said that the crew member believed the show was “so audacious” and “unfair” to Simpson Brown and Goldman’s families. However, the crew member also had a personal ulterior motive.
“This crew member was also looking for their own 15 minutes of fame, and so perhaps they were trying to use it as a stepping stone in their own career. But more than not, I think it’s just the premise of the show is so over the top to them and so gross,” she said.
She also explained that Juice was pulled long before reality TV evolved to the successful model it is today..
“Reality TV was really starting to capitalize on fallen stars, people that we thought we knew [and] lifting the veil off of people’s darkest secrets,” she explained of the entertainment landscape at the time
Halpern also shared the premise of the show, explaining that it followed “Simpson shocking innocent victims in scenes inspired from his own true crime case.”
“He decided to film it 10 years after he was acquitted of murder. He had reached rock bottom in his life and needed to prove to the world that he was beloved, and so he used … as sort of his trial to prove his case in the court of public opinion that he is actually a beloved figure in the world,” she said.
Halpern went on to say that the docuseries “takes viewers through the two-week production process of the making of Juiced through the lens of the crew and the creator that made it.”
While Juiced never made it to the small screen, viewers will get a chance to see archival footage from the show in O.J. Unseen: Exploitation of Evil.
O.J. Unseen: Exploitation of Evil will premiere on Monday, September 7, and Tuesday, September 8, at 9 p.m. ET on ID. Episodes will also be available to stream on HBO Max.
