Sacha Baron Cohen once tried to get OJ Simpson to confess to murder on live TV and it’s truly chilling
Back in 1994, America was stunned when OJ Simpson was accused of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and aspiring actor Ron Goldman. Though he was acquitted in a widely publicized trial, the case remains unsolved, according to ABC. Comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen, however, took it upon himself to dig for the truth. In a tense conversation with Simpson, Cohen attempted to extract a confession, making for a particularly gripping exchange.
Simpson, who died at the age of 76 on April 11, 2024, had a segment with Cohen for the Showtime series 'Who Is America?' Back in 2018. Disguised as Italian photographer Gio Monaldo, Cohen believed Simpson would fall for his tactics during their Las Vegas chat. Deadline reported that the segment between Cohen's Monaldo and Simpson was filmed with a hidden camera setup. In the video, Simpson sat through an introduction, calling him an "American hero and women’s rights activist." After playful banter, Monaldo's Italian girlfriend, Christina, initially failed to recognize Simpson but reacted excitedly when Monaldo mimicked a stabbing motion.
As she exited, Simpson called her "gorgeous," prompting Monaldo to joke about wanting to kill her, one of several attempts to provoke Simpson. Despite the host's efforts, including an offer from a fictional sheik to pay for "the truth," Simpson laughed off the remarks, saying, "Hey, I didn't get away with nothing." During the segment, Cohen’s character jokingly tells Simpson, "Me and you, we got something in common. We both, how do you say, 'ladykillers.'" Simpson responds with a laugh, saying, "No, I didn’t kill anybody." The segment ended with a high five.
The Internet was also on roll with Cohen's attempt to churn out the truth from Simpson and shared their two cents under a Reddit thread. A comment read, "That dude was born with more nerve than all of humanity. I don’t see how Sasha does that shit," while another shared, "I did not know this piece of art existed." A user said, "Who Is America didn’t get close to the attention it should’ve. It’s almost conspiratorial-like." Meanwhile, one remarked, "It's strange that he laughs it off people would normally be aggressive against "false" accusations." A comment said, "It's amazing how he didn't break character the entire time. OJ deserves an emmy."
Now the question arises: how did Cohen even convince Simpson to do the interview? For context, Simpson was convicted in 2007 for stealing sports memorabilia he believed was his and was sentenced to 33 years in prison, with parole eligibility after nine years, as per Fox 5. He was granted parole in July 2017 and released on October 1, 2017. Simpson was expected to move to Florida after his release but chose to stay in Las Vegas, though he occasionally visited his children there.
Cohen explained, "He can't leave Vegas and we lured him with the promise of a meeting with an Arab sheik." He added, "We said this Arab sheik is going to give you this deal that will be worth a lot of money." Reportedly, Cohen prepared for the interview by training with an FBI interrogator, stating, "They have a technique for breaking down criminals and getting them to confess," as per USA Today. He admitted it was nerve-wracking, adding, "I asked him about 45 times whether he had murdered anyone and he was getting increasingly frustrated." However, despite his best efforts, Simpson never wavered from insisting on his innocence.