O.J. on book furor: ‘I got paid just the same’

O.J. Simpson is speaking out on his controversial “confessional” tome, “If I Did It.”

Simpson, who was acquitted in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman, explained to a Florida newspaper that he told Judith Regan, the would-be publisher of the canceled volume, “I hope this book never comes out.”

“It made it look too much like an admission of guilt,” Simpson said to the Palm Beach Post. “I wasn’t happy with the hypothetical paragraphs. A ghostwriter wrote the whole thing, and I OK’d it. But there were a lot of inaccuracies about the case and about how I would have done things. But I figure I’d let it go since I didn’t kill anyone.”

Was he surprised that the public was so outraged by news of the book?

“I don’t care,” Simpson told the paper. “I got paid just the same.”

Diva debate rages on
Feud fans are circulating a clip of Mariah Carey refusing comment on her old nemesis, Jennifer Lopez.

The “Emancipation of Mimi” singer was asked by a German television reporter what she thought of Beyoncé Knowles, and Carey gushed about how beautiful and sweet and talented Knowles is.

The interviewer then asked Carey’s opinion of J. Lo, and Carey looked uncomfortable and said, “I don’t know her.”

“I laughed out loud when she said ‘I don’t know her’ in regards to J-Lo,” noted one viewer. “Considering J-Lo and her team stole a bunch of Mariah’s songs years ago [songs that Carey was sampling were sampled by Lopez before Carey could release them], it’s no wonder her answer was so snippy.”

Notes from all over
More than 700 “American Idol” fans have signed a petition asking producers to bring back Sherman Pole, the 64-year-old contestant who, during the auditions , sang ‘You Belong to Me’ for his recently deceased “lady love.” “He touched A LOT of people’s hearts and there was an overwhelming positive response about him on your chat boards,” noted the creator of the petition. “He truly is a very inspiring gentleman and is a perfect example of what an ‘American Idol’ is (even if he is past the age to be a contestant on the show).” . . .  Fergie loaded up on large-size free underwear for her man, Josh Duhamel, at the Super Bowl’s 2xist freebie booth at the NFL’s Celebrity Gifting Suite. After getting trunks, t-shirts, and socks, she also got some items for herself, explaining, “I love to wear men’s underwear.”  . . .  Speaking of underwear, Lauren Conrad thinks some starlets don’t wear enough. “Sometimes I look at what really young girls wear and I can’t believe it — I have underwear that covers more than what some of them have on!” the 21-year-old star of “The Hills” tells Cosmo Girl. “I think it’s important that girls know that they can be attractive and sexy in a classy way and that guys actually like that more than when they see girls who show a lot of skin. For me, I like clothes and I like to wear them to cover up.”

Jeannette Walls Delivers the Scoop Mondays through Thursdays on MSNBC.com