The People v. O.J. is back this week and so thick with dramatic irony you might forget you’re watching FX instead of a Greek tragedy. While we always knew the glove wouldn’t fit (and that they would eventually acquit), seeing the shock and pain on Darden’s face after O.J. held his hands up was the perfect climax to this week’s episode and in some ways to the entire series. "Conspiracy Theories" feels dedicated to failed opportunities on the whole. From the missed kiss outside of Marcia’s hotel room to the now-historic glove disaster, everything that was supposed to go right didn’t, and everything that could have never got the chance.
You can’t rewrite history, but you can turn it into great television. Still, you’ve got to keep things in perspective. In today’s fact-check: who was teasing little Robbie Kardashian? Where did Marcia get that sweatshirt? What is "Frogmen," and where can we watch it?? Find the answers to these and other fun-spoiling questions below.
The Trial
True or False: Alan Dershowitz sent Johnnie Cochran a fax during the trial telling him to ask about the "Colombian Necktie."
Probably false. Dershowitz hasn’t said anything about it previously, and it isn’t referenced elsewhere. The Harvard Man has also called American Crime“totally inaccurate” in the past, so we’re adopting a healthy dose of skepticism about his particular plot lines. Bonus mistake: in transcripts this murder-style was actually referred to as a Colombian Necklace, not Necktie.
The Kardashians
True or False: Robert Kardashian and A.C. opened O.J.'s Louis Vuitton garment bag together before turning it into the court.
True. This was verified in a longer profile by LA Magazine during the civil trial. Kardashian and A.C. apparently "conducted a thorough search, opening all the pockets, taking out the clubs, even holding the bag upside down." Everything came up clean.
True or False: Rob Kardashian, Jr. got teased in school by other kids during the trial.
Oh boy. It doesn’t look like this wasbased on anything real, which I guess is a good thing for little Robbie K. At least he would have had his sisters there to defend them.
The Juice
True or False: In "Frogmen," O.J. played a Navy Seal who was trained to kill.
Of all the bizarre things O.J.’s worked on over the years (we keep plugging "Juiced," but seriously: watch "Juiced") "Frogmen" has the potential to be one of the strangest. O.J. would have played a Seal named John "Bullfrog" Burke, who at one point holds a knife up to a young woman's throat. So yes, this was definitely true, and the prosecution was aware of it, although they opted out of an in-court screener. You can read some great longform about the pilot here.
The Gloves
True or False: The model number on O.J.'s gloves was 70263, XL.
Yes, this part’s true. The gloves were a 70263 and were virtually impossible to find outside of that one specific Bloomingdale’s where O.J.’s murdered ex-wife purchased them. Weird coincidence, right?
True or False: Shapiro wanted to cut a deal after hearing about the prosecution's new evidence and suggested Kardashian go down as an accomplice.
Also true. We actually verified this back in Week 4, but figured we’d jog your memory. Shapiro did try to finagle a plea deal—though he didn’t take it to O.J.—and suggested Kardashian go down, too. Definitely not one of his more popular ideas.
True or False: Shapiro tried (and failed) to put on the gloves himself before proposing O.J. attempt to in court.
Not exactly. The defense did have access to the gloves before O.J. tried them on, so it wasn’t done quite as sneaky as American Crime made it seem. It also doesn’t look like Shapiro was the one to test anything out. Toobin credits Phil Vannatter, and Bailey credits himself. As for what is true, Bailey goaded Darden before he ordered O.J. to try on the gloves, much to Marcia’s dismay.
Clarden (or, Dalark?)
True or False: Darden and Clark went on a possibly-more-than-friends-slash-coworkers weekend trip together.
…True! Yes, they flaunted around the Bay Area together and shared an intimate-slash-awkward moment outside of her hotel room. Darden writes about it more in his book, In Contempt, which you can read an excerpt from here. In his own words: "Much later, we paused at our separate doors, ten feet of papered wall between us. She faced her hotel room door in a trademark Marcia dress, short and black. She looked down toward her shoes. 'I'll see you in the morning,' I said." !!!
True or False: Clark bought Darden's friend a "District Attorney's Office" sweatshirt for his birthday.
...False! The pair weren’t actually in San Francisco for a birthday party, just "to get away."
Everything Else
True or False: Darden called the Goldmans to apologize after the glove catastrophe.
There aren’t any reports of this happening, but it is possible. Darden actually did speak to Clark afterwards to do just that.
True or False: O.J. kept using football lingo throughout the trial.
This isn’t actually somethingwe can verify, but it is a character trait that’s been weirdly prominent since the beginning. Does O.J. constantly refer to people in as linebackers or quarterbacks in real life? We’ll update if we ever get to speak to each other IRL.
True or False: Cochran's ex-wife outed his past on A Current Affair.
False. It seems like pretty much every A Current Affair bit has been a "false" so far—we’d actually be super curious to know why this is the talk show American Crime keeps plugging. The biggest story to come out of Cochran’s alleged abuse was actually the LA Times profile we wrote about last week. Barbara Jean Berry’s press came mostly from the book she wrote after he contacted her: Life After Johnnie Cochran, Why I Left The Sweetest-Talking, Most Successful Black Lawyer in L.A.
