Who Is America?'s O.J. Simpson sitdown required hidden cameras, FBI-level training and a fake Sheikh

Deadline

Sacha Baron Cohen generated backlash in February when The Daily Mail reported that he paid O.J. Simpson nearly $20,000 to appear in a prank for his new film. It's unclear if that story was true, but Deadline reports that his lawyer did take a payout from Cohen's Gio Monaldo character to put him in the same room as Simpson. Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr. reports that Monaldo told Simpson's lawyer he was "acting as a middleman for (a) fictional Sheikh, who was prepared to pay a seven-figure sum to hear Simpson say what really happened that night, a confession to be delivered while the Sheikh was having sex with a prostitute. Monaldo would have to hear the confession, before his client would pay up. This took preparation that included Baron Cohen spending hours with a former lead interrogator for the FBI, an expert in drawing out confessions. It also involved creating credible cover stories for the (Sheikh), so that the lawyer who pocketed the fee and others could Google and feel they were dealing with real people." Fleming adds that "Simpson didn’t know he was on camera, as this was one of the few examples where a hidden camera was used."

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