Malcolm LaVergne, the executor of OJ Simpson's estate, is back-tracking on his previous comments regarding a $33.5 million judgment awarded to the families of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman by a jury in a wrongful death lawsuit.
The attorney previously told The Las Vegas Review-Journal that his hope was "that the Goldmans get zero, nothing" and that he would "do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure that they get nothing," according to ESPN.
However, LaVergne is reportedly now singing a different tune.
"I can tell you in advance, Fred Goldman's [Ron Goldman's father] claim will be accepted. And his claim will be handled in accordance with Nevada law," LaVergne told The Hollywood Reporter.
LaVergne, who had represented Simpson since 2009, argued his comments to the Review-Journal were not directed toward Fred Goldman but rather to the attorneys representing him.
"Within an hour of knowing that O.J. died, he started talking s---. My advocate instinct was, 'Oh, you're gonna keep s---ting on him even after he's dead?'" he told the publication.
"'Fine, you know? You get nothing.' And so, those were my remarks then. But I backtracked, and they were pretty harsh remarks. And now I'm going in the other direction."
Goldman insists that the issue was never about the money and was only about holding Simpson accountable.
Simpson died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer without having paid his share of the civil judgment awarded to the families in 1997.
His assets are set to go through the probate process, which will determine whether the Goldman and Brown families are due a piece of whatever Simpson left behind.
In a statement released Thursday, Goldman said that with Simpson's death, "the hope for true accountability has ended."
LaVerge says he intends to be "hypertransparent" with the families and "show my homework" to them as he tries to organize the estate.
