Fury of victims’ families as Ali G star pays OJ Simpson £15k to be in his new film
ALI G star Sacha Baron Cohen paid disgraced actor OJ Simpson £15,000 to appear in a prank for the comedian’s next film, according to a source close to the production. A source told The Mail on Sunday that Baron Cohen wore a curly dark wig and black, thickrimmed glasses to meet Simpson in a Las Vegas hotel room. The source said: ‘OJ would not even get in the hotel room until he was paid a sackload of cash. There was no way Sacha could have got OJ into the room without paying money.’ Simpson was acquitted of the murder of his exwife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in a 1995 criminal trial, only to be found liable for their deaths in a 1997 civil case.
The revelation that Baron Cohen paid Simpson a reputed £15,000 – or $20,000 – has sparked outrage from the families of his victims, who Simpson still owes around £50 million ($70 million) from the civil suit.
Nicole Brown’s sister Tanya said last night: ‘Nicole and Ron are two human beings who were brutally murdered. 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.’ Last night Goldman family lawyer David Cook 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.’ The Mail on Sunday approached Simpson on Friday as he enjoyed a leisurely two-hour lunch with friends at the Grape Street wine bar in Summerlin, Las Vegas, near to the £1.5 million mansion in a gated community which is being loaned to him by a businessman friend. Simpson admitted knowing Baron Cohen, saying: ‘I know him well. I met him. Nice guy.’ But he refused to confirm whether he was paid a fee.
Simpson was released from jail in October last year. He had served nine years for armed robbery after raiding a Vegas hotel room seeking to get back memorabilia he claimed was his.
Baron Cohen, 46, declined to respond to repeated requests for comment.
The London-born comic is notoriously secretive when working on new projects.
Last night a woman who answered the door at the magnificent £18 million Mulholland Drive mansion he shares with wife, Australian actress Isla Fisher, and their two children, said he was ‘not home’.