Distastefulness on Reality TV

It seems that every C- and D-list celebrity are either appearing on a reality show or getting a reality show of their own. We’ve had Tatum O’Neal Dancing with the Stars, Todd Bridges on Skating with Celebrities, and even Patti LaBelle on Celebrity Cooking Showdown. Those who have or have dad their own shows include Ozzy Osborne, Paris Hilton, and Bobby Brown.

Now we can add OJ Simpson to the list.

The program is Juiced with OJ Simpson. It is a hidden camera show in the vein of MTV’s Punk’d. In the program Simpson performs practical jokes and then reveals the prank by using his new catchphrase, “You’ve been juiced.”

The programs air strictly on InDemand pay-per-view television.

A recent prank, however, really is an example of the extreme distastefulness of some of OJ’s pranks. In the program OJ Simpson pretends to be selling the infamous white Bronco that the world saw Simpson riding during a slow speed chase in when the news broke that the police were looking for him in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson, OJ’s ex-wife, and Ronald Goldman.

In the prank Simpson tells the person looking at the Bronco that he made the automobile famous. In fact, Simpson says that “It was good for me – it helped me get away.”

Granted Simpson was acquitted of the murder, though he was found guilty during a later civil trial which award $33.5 million dollars to the Brown and Goldman families.

I do not want to knock Simpson for attempting to make a living. If he wants to find success in the world of reality television, more power to him. But making the statements that he did and using the infamous Bronco in this way just seems reprehensible and an inappropriate way to do so.