Simpsons web parody starring O.J. draws fire from Fox
U.S. studio 20th Century Fox is threatening action against a web parody of its longtime animated TV series The Simpsons, reimagined with former football star O.J. Simpson as the star.
According to a report in industry paper Hollywood Reporter, the studio has called on video-sharing website broadcaster.com to remove the three parody episodes of The O.J. Simpsons.
Broadcaster.com has received notices from Fox lawyers, but said last weekthey believed the parodies arepermissible as part of U.S. fair-use doctrine.
"We respect the rights of content owners," broadcaster.com CEO Martin Wade III told the Hollywood Reporter.
"We are examining all the issues raised by the Fox request. Our goal is to be a respecter of content rights and at the same time find legal ways to bring our community members the content they enjoy."
Fox declined comment but, in the past, has taken aggressive action seeking the removal of episodes of its shows that turn up online.
The animated videos — entitled If I Did It, Black and White Christmas and Warzone — portray the former actor and sports figure styled like cartoonpatriarch Homer Simpson, with his son and daughter drawn and voiced in the manner of Bart and Lisa Simpson. Each begins with a parody of the show intro, featuring the same bouncy theme music but depicting the former footballer's infamous Bronco police chase.
The approximately five-minute episodes make references to the murders of Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was charged but acquitted in a high-profile 1995 trial.
Also mentioned in the parody videos are the $33.5 million US he owes the Goldman family after losing a subsequent civil court case and the recent, thwarted book-and-interview project in which Simpson purportedly discusses the crimes.
The three videos, which are also available on popular video-sharing website YouTube, poke fun at other disgraced celebrities Michael Richards and Mel Gibson as well as the U.S. war effort in Iraq.