Highlights
- Steve Harvey’s comment that O.J. Simpson “killed everybody in that driveway” made Cuba Gooding Jr. uncomfortable during an interview.
- Gooding decided to stop Harvey’s rant, stating that they are not there to change anyone’s beliefs about Simpson’s innocence or guilt.
- O.J. Simpson was reportedly upset about Gooding playing him in American Crime Story because he didn’t think Gooding resembled him and didn’t like how the show portrayed him as guilty.
In 2017, Cuba Gooding Jr. went on Steve to discuss how it was playing O.J. Simpson in the 2016 FX series, American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Directed by Ryan Murphy, the show sparked controversy for reigniting the athlete’s murder “trial of the century.”
As a result, even Steve Harvey couldn’t help but state Simpson “killed everybody in that driveway,” making Gooding uncomfortable. The host, who’s an alleged infidel, is friends with one of the ex-convict’s former lawyers, Johnnie Cochran, who was portrayed by Courtney Vance.
Gooding — who’s previously faced sexual misconduct accusations — has been open about the challenges of playing such a scandalous figure. Just as how Simpson himself was vocal about feeling “upset” about the casting choice in the biographical anthology.
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Cuba Gooding Jr. Didn’t Agree With Steve Harvey Saying O.J. Simpson “Killed Everybody In That Driveway”
When Gooding sat down with Harvey to discuss ACS season 1, the host started off by saying that “Johnnie Cochran, who was a friend of mine, he had put the system on trial. Not O.J.” Without any build-up, he casually blurted out: “O.J. killed everybody in that driveway,” in reference to the murders of the retired footballer’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.
Their bodies were found outside Brown’s townhouse. The former Mrs. Simpson was stabbed 12 times while the waiter had over 15 knife wounds. Harvey repeated his statement a few times while Gooding chuckled uncomfortably. “I mean, I hate to laugh, but it’s only because… The conviction.”
The host cut him off by mentioning the infamous DNA and fingerprint evidence that linked back to Simpson at that time. That’s when the Jerry Maguire alum decided to stop Harvey’s rant. “I could give you information that would refute all of that,” he claimed. “But why? I mean I get it. If O.J. came out of jail today and he said, ‘I did it. I killed those people.’”
“It’s people like you [who] would say, ‘Prison broke that man. I knew it; he killed him,” Gooding explained. “And people who believe he’s innocent would say, ‘Prison broke that man. See, they brainwashed him to believe that he did it.’ So that’s why we’re not here to convince anybody and change your beliefs.”
The Family Feud frontman, who was listening intently, clarified that he was just expressing his opinion outside the show’s depiction. “Yeah, not you, not you with the movie. I am. I’m cool with you, Cuba. That’s cool,” Harvey quipped. “See, they gave me [a] talk show, I talk. I say what it is.” The Gladiator star waved the white flag, saying, “Yes, sir,” before sipping a drink.
Ron Goldman’s family slammed American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson for “concentrating so much on the attorney’s side of it.”
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Cuba Gooding Jr. Said Playing O.J. Simpson In American Crime Story “Haunts” Him
In 2016, Gooding told Variety that portraying Simpson onscreen “haunts” him. When asked about his process, the actor recalled “playing the performance down the middle and let Ryan dictate the guilt and innocence in the editing room. So if I was feeling overwhelmed by his guilt, I would research evidence of his [Simpson] innocence, and vice versa.”
He continued: “That’s kinda how I walked that line. I still, to this day, don’t tell anybody if I think he did do it or he didn’t do it, because I don’t want them to be influenced either way when they watch my performance. I think that’s healthy in terms of digesting this journey.” When asked if it was hard to let go of the character’s “ghost” after the project, he mused:
“I think all my characters haunt me… A dark character changes you as well. You ever had a bad dream? You wake up from it and you can’t unring that bell, it’s part of your psyche now.”
Gooding shared that the case having “no closure” actually helped his performance. “Yeah, we don’t know [what really happened]. And I think that’s what opened the door to empathy for my character,” he recalled. “My wife said, when she saw it, ‘Ugh, you’re going to make me feel for this guy,’ and she didn’t want to. And I get it. Because there is that bit of unknown, And it’s easy to ignore until you don’t ignore it.”
Gooding is a veteran at playing real-life figures on the big screen. Here are his most notable roles:
|
Movie |
Public Figure |
|
Men of Honor (2000) |
U.S. Navy Master Diver, Carl Brashear, who rose to the rank in 1970 despite having his left leg amputated in 1966 |
|
Pearl Harbor (2001) |
U.S. Navy cook, Doris Miller, the first Black recipient of the Navy Cross and a nominee for the Medal of Honor |
|
Gifted Hands (2009) |
Ben Carson, the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development |
|
Selma (2014) |
Civil rights attorney, Fred Gray, who was also a Member of the Alabama House of Representatives |
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O.J. Simpson Was “Upset” About Cuba Gooding Jr. Playing Him In American Crime Story
When ACS came out, Jeffrey Felix — a former Nevada prison guard at the Lovelace Correctional Center — said that Simpson thought Gooding looked nothing like him. “Gooding’s not tall enough and his head is too small,” said The Naked Gun star, according to Felix.
But “on a deeper level,” the corrections staff said, “Simpson is ‘upset’ that the FX series seems to suggest he’s guilty of murdering ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.” He noted that the show didn’t include the vulnerable moment that stopped Simpson from comitting suicide during the Bronco chase.
“The slow-speed, white Bronco chase scene in the FX series missed the reason why Simpson decided not to commit suicide,” Felix informed Page Six. “The only reason he didn’t shoot himself in the head in the Bronco is that he saw a kid on the side of the road holding a sign saying, ‘We Heart You Juice!’”
Cuba Gooding Jr. couldn’t watch American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson as some of O.J. Simpson’s experiences with discrimination are “too close” to his personal life.
Source: NewsFinale
