In case you somehow forgot, a new CNN Money report would like to remind you that Donald Trump once wanted O.J. Simpson on “Celebrity Apprentice.”
NBC wasn’t too keen on the idea, and issued a statement in April 2008 saying: “NBC representatives have never considered O.J. Simpson for the next season of ‘The Apprentice,’ nor will.”
But Trump didn’t drop the notion, and repeated his casting idea on “The Howard Stern Show” in July 2008.
“I do have to tell you about O.J. and ‘The Apprentice,’” he said. “NBC went totally crazy when I wanted to put O.J. on ‘The Apprentice.’”
Trump said that he had been friendly with the former NFL star and played golf with him, but cut off social ties when he “realized he killed his wife.” Simpson was acquitted in the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.
When asked by Howard Stern why he would then want to put Simpson on his show, Trump replied: “Well, you know, in your business, there’s a thing called ratings. And, you know you can come up with a cure for cancer — I found out a lot about your business — because, hey, I’m the biggest star. I’m now the biggest star,” he said, CNN Money reported.
“So I know that if you come up with a cure for cancer, and if you put it on, and if it doesn’t get ratings, they will not broadcast it. So, you come with a cure for a disease, no good. Now, I know this if I put O.J. on huge ratings. Oh, forget it, 35 million people,” he added.
After being acquitted of the double murder in 1995, Simpson was found guilty of armed robbery in a bizarre case involving his own memorabilia being stolen at gunpoint from a Las Vegas hotel room.
On Dec. 5, 2008, Simpson was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after about nine years, in 2017.
The only way Simpson is appearing on TV in the near future is by having his story told in dramatic and documentary form on FX’s “People v OJ Simpson” and ESPN “30 for 30” series “O.J. Made in America.”
Listen to the audio from Trump talking to Stern below.