Marcia Clark, the prosecutor in O.J. Simpson's murder trial, watched the first episode of FX's new miniseries based on the trial, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and her reactions to the miniseries thus far have been mixed, to say the least.
As we previously reported, Simpson's lawyer, Malcom LaVergne said that Simpson himself was unhappy with the series mainly because of its portrayal of his defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran. Clark, who left the legal profession shortly after the Simpson trial, spoke to Entertainment Weekly about watching the first episode of the miniseries.
On the whole, she says the experience was far from entertaining and the events of the trial will never be just television to her. "The whole experience of that trial was a nightmare. It tore me up. I can’t tell you. I watched justice get thwarted from almost day one," she said. Clark wasn't happy when she found out that a miniseries based on the trial was being made and had hoped that something would cause the project to get scrapped.
Clark also discussed a few of the actors' performances. She praised Courtney Vance's portrayal of Johnnie Cochran and described Cuba Gooding Jr.'s portrayal of Simpson as "interesting." However, Clark did note that some creative license may have been taken with the story such as the show's claim that the prosecution had contemplated pursuing the death penalty for Simpson. " [T]he death penalty was never on the table. That was never true. It was not even discussed," she said.
One area where Clark was undeniably pleased was with Sarah Paulson's portrayal of her. "I’ve been a fan of hers for years. I just love her," she said.
Clark was able to meet Paulson and says that the stylists for the miniseries made her look "better than I ever did." Although Clark thought the series was a decent attempt at recreating the trial, she was unsure of whether or not she would watch the remaining episodes, saying, "I don’t know if I can make myself do it. I don’t know if I’ll survive it. It’s just so awful."