O.J. Simpson knew it was Sasha Baron Cohen while filming 'Who is America?' finale, says lawyer
Sacha Baron Cohen may be a master of disguise, but one person he interviewed for the "Who is America?" season finale apparently was not fooled.
O.J. Simpson's lawyer Malcolm P. LaVergne told ABC News on Monday that Simpson is actually a fan of Cohen's and has been for some time.
At some point during the interview, LaVergne said, Simpson realized it was "Sacha Baron Cohen doing his thing," based on a few tells that gave it away: a legal pad he took out during the conversation -- which isn't something a billionaire playboy would be using -- and the fact that Cohen is 6'3.
The segment, which aired Sunday night, was filmed in a hotel room with the comedian interviewing the former NFL star and trying to get him to talk about the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1994, crimes for which Simpson was later charged and then acquitted.
Within the first few minutes of the interview, things got awkward, with Baron Cohen as Gio -- who Simpson is supposedly led to believe is an Italian playboy and host of a show for the wealthy called "The Diamond Life" -- introducing Simpson to his girlfriend, who can't place him until Gio mimes a stabbing motion to jog her memory.
Simpson actually laughs off the incident, adding, "She knows that! Oh Jesus!"
After Gio's girlfriend says Simpson is handsome, he calls her gorgeous.
"You can enjoy her, just don't ..." Cohen in disguise says, once again miming a stabbing motion. "No, no!" Simpson replies.
LaVergne added that Simpson was trying to be a good sport and “enjoy his time with the comedian,” but that he believes that Cohen is funnier than what aired and “could have done a lot better," not focusing on the deaths of two people.
LaVergne also said they filmed for hours and said that Simpson doesn’t find the deaths of Brown Simpson and Goldman funny “on any level” -- but that it was Cohen’s choice to edit it the way he did.
Cohen's character continued to press Simpson during the interview with morbid jokes and humor, telling the former football star that he sometimes wants to push his girlfriend out of a helicopter.
Simpson says "stop," but also plays along when Gio jokes about sending her on a bungee jump but with the cord cut.
"Cut the cord extra long," Simpson adds, joking.
When the late defense attorney Johnnie Cochran is mentioned, Gio pushes yet again with, "You didn't kill him too, did you?"
"Stop man, Jesus Christ," Simpson says.
Things get even stranger as the interview continues and Gio point blank asks Simpson how he got away with Nicole's murder.
"I didn't get away with nothing," Simpson says.
After telling a fictional tale about how his wife committed suicide, Gio then says, "We got something in common. We both, how you say it, lady killers," adding that in his native Italian that translates to "somebody who murders women."
Simpson yet again professes "I didn't kill anybody," but continues to laugh it off and joke with Cohen's character.
Simpson, who was acquitted on criminal murder charges in 1995, was found liable two years later in civil court and ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages to the Brown and Goldman families.
After being convicted for a Las Vegas robbery in 2008, Simpson was released from prison last year after serving nine years behind bars.
One point Simpson's lawyer really wanted to stress is that his client believes this week should be all about John McCain and the debt Americans owe to the late senator, who died over the weekend after a battle with glioblastoma.
Simpson is still a fan of Cohen’s, but he wants the country to focus on celebrating the life of the war hero and all that he's done for America.
Someone who wasn't featured on the finale was former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who earlier this summer has spoken out about being tricked by Cohen.
"I join a long list of American public personalities who have fallen victim to the evil, exploitative, sick 'humor' of the British 'comedian' Sacha Baron Cohen," she wrote in a lengthy Facebook statement.
Instead, Palin was featured in the credits and actually called a "Special Publicity Consultant (Inadvertent)."
