Thank You Sterling K. Brown! Final Thoughts About 'The People v. O.J. Simpson

Source: FX Network

So many of you have told me how you appreciate reading my take on “The People v. O.J. Simpson” miniseries. There might not have been any blog posts if it weren’t for actor Sterling K. Brown. I read some interviews where he gave his take on my father and I thought to myself, “This dude gets it.” Brown celebrated the acquittal of Simpson back in the day, but researched my father and recognized that he was treated unfairly. I’m grateful that he was able to put his views aside, open his mind, delve into my father’s past and bring his performance artistry to this role.

Sterling K. Brown played my father with dignity and heart. He nailed his voice and got his movements down. His performance triggered bad and good memories, but also influenced me to reevaluate some of the past. I appreciate that during the promotion of the show, he spoke about my father’s challenges during the trial and encouraged people to take a different look at Chris Darden. And I’m also thankful that he mentioned my website and work in his interviews. Brown’s mentioning of me led to other media outlets contacting me for me interviews. I was able to tell my story to more people.

Brown and I tweeted during the miniseries’ run. I referred to him as my “TV Dad.” He is the best TV Dad a girl could ever had.  I’m so happy he was cast for this role and has gotten even more exposure. I hope this role opens even more doors for him in his career.  And I hope we get to meet one day. If he and Sarah Paulson both win awards for their roles, there will be no words to describe how hyped I would be. No words. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  

How I Really Feel About the Show

Simply put, “The People v. O.J. Simpson” is downright, a prime example of good television drama.

Actor Sterling K. Brown
Source FX Network

When I say good drama, I mean on the level of a “Dynasty” or “Dallas.” The casting was excellent. It’s the best casting I’ve seen in a long time and I hope other casting directors take note when doing films or shows on real life events.  The makeup work was phenomenal. The actors looked so close to the real key players, which made the series even more believable. And the writing was strong. It was an incredible production.

The show’s creators were right in shining light on the sexism Marcia Clark experienced. Race was a major issue, yet the public ignored sexism. I’m glad people are waking up to this. As for Sarah Paulson, she did the damn thing as Marcia Clark. She and Sterling K. Brown had amazing chemistry. Again, that goes back to good casting.

The actors did not come to the set to play. They brought their A-game. I want to hug the person who had the sense to bring Nathan Lane on board. Courtney B. Vance was amazing. The public got to see more of his acting range because he’s often cast as a regular attorney.  I hope this role opens the door for him to play a variety of characters.

There were some downsides. Some of the Kardashian kids’ scenes early on were cheesy and overboard. Not everything depicted was true or accurate. I strongly encourage people to read other books and bios from the trial. Johnnie Cochran, Marcia Clark, my dad of course, and others wrote books. Read them to get their sides of the story. Also, my father says parts of the show were taken from his memoir, yet he received no compensation. That’s not okay and I can understand his frustrations.

Source FX

 Like the real case, the series’ drama still overshadows the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. You get lost in all of the juicy stuff and forget this is a double- murder trial. Remember, two people died horrifically. 

One characteristic of my father that the show’s writers left out was his tougher side. My dad can be aggressive when needed. I don’t blame Sterling K. Brown. The creators of the show didn’t capture that side of my father. I also wished they showed how the media hounded my father and that he received threats. My dad and Marcia needed security because tensions were serious.

On the flip side, what I most love about this show is how they humanize the people involved in the trial. People didn’t realize that my dad, Marcia, Johnnie, Judge Ito, etc. had real lives. They were real people. Their lives weren’t just about heading to the courtroom and going home. They had other stuff going on personally. 

A major strength for this show is that it doesn’t set out to convince people if O.J. Simpson is innocent or guilty. The purpose of the show is to give audiences an idea of the craziness surrounding the trial and how the jury reached a not guilty verdict.

But the story doesn’t end with the verdict. Actually that’s just the beginning. The trial is over and now, for my father,  comes the challenge of going from a regular guy to a celebrity. How do you reconcile with a community that you loved, but saw you as a traitor? How do you have normalcy and not beat yourself up for mistakes made? How do you differentiate the people who really care about you as opposed to those who want to be around you because you're a household name? Then there’s people sending mean letters, being followed by the press and losing a brother to AIDS. This was not an easy time for my father and family. No matter how much time has passed and how much of the past we released, a piece of this trial stills sticks with us.

This trial left me with some trust issues. I had to hide who I was out of my own emotional protection. I encountered people, some envious, who thought my life was easy and glamorous because of the trial. The drama can be real. But I think the show and my articles have made people look at my experience differently. As I said when I first started blogging about the trial, I wish what we experienced on no one. 

I’ve come to accept that O.J. story will never end. Looking deeply inside and sharing my story has been a new beginning for me spiritually and mentally. I thank you for taking time out of your lives to read my perspective and follow me. I thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I thank you for respectfully engaging with me, even if you feel Simpson is not guilty. I've enjoyed engaging with so many of you. Please keep following my work and this blog. I'm going back to working on my Black Erotic Literature and Sexuality research. Again, this is only the beginning.