This is all hypothetical, but in order for O.J. to successfully win a defamation lawsuit against FX (if that was actually what he were to try to do) it is a much more difficult process for celebrities to do so. The reason is because O.J. will have to prove that all five of the following factors took place in the portrayal of him in the FX series (as opposed to a non-public figure, who may only have to prove that only one or two of these factors took place):
1. Someone made a statement;
2. that statement was published;
3. the statement caused you injury;
4. the statement was false; and
5. the statement did not fall into a privileged category.
The Statement — A “statement” needs to be spoken, written, or otherwise expressed in some manner.
Publication — For a statement to be published, a third party must have seen, heard or read the defamatory statement, which would apply for a television show.
Injury — To succeed in a defamation lawsuit, the statement must be shown to have caused injury to the subject of the statement.
Falsity — Defamation law will only consider statements defamatory if they are, in fact, false.
Unprivileged — In order for a statement to be defamatory, it must be unprivileged.
If O.J. can prove all of these things with his claims, then he may be able to earn a pretty hefty FX paycheck, but if not, then maybe he needs to just focus on doing the proving on his end, if he wants the court of public opinion to hear his side of the story as well.
