Judith Regan, the publisher who garnered much criticism for her since-cancelled plans to put out a hypothetical tell-all by O.J. Simpson, has been fired after stirring up more controversy.

A publishing source confirmed Regan’s firing was the result of anti-Semetic comments she made, reports Reuters. The unidentified remarks were reportedly made by Regan during an argument with a lawyer for HarperCollins, publisher of Regan Books.

According to The New York Times, who broke news of Regan’s firing on Friday, Rupert Murdoch (whose News Corp. owns HarperCollins) said he wouldn’t put up with “that kind of behaviour” and permitted Regan’s firing.

Many expected that Regan would be fired after the controversial O.J. Simpson fell through. The ghostwritten book was to have told how Simpson would have murdered ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman had he actually committed the crimes. Simpson had maintained his innocence since being found not guilty on murder charges.

The book and a related television special sparked such a massive public outcry that Murdoch was forced to cancel Regan’s project completely. However, since he had originally approved the project, he didn’t hold Regan to blame and she kept her job until this latest incident.






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