Peacock's two-part docuseries OJ's Accomplice, directed by Ari Mark and Sumit David, captured an unguarded moment during production at The Peppermint Hippo strip club in Las Vegas. Charlie Ehrlich, a friend of O.J. Simpson's and ex-con who manages the venue, was still wearing a microphone after his formal interview wrapped when he told director David that Joey Ippolito, another key figure in the documentary, had confessed to involvement in the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Ehrlich relayed that Lou Ippolito, Joey's brother, had told him Joey admitted his role after being taken to Italy a month before Joey's death.
Mark confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Ehrlich knew he was mic'd up but had likely become more casual in his speech. The director also said he believes Ehrlich knew cameras were still rolling. Ehrlich had previously shared Lou Ippolito's account with others, including his friend Joe Spitaleri, who appears in the docuseries.
The docuseries explores an alternative theory that Simpson had an accomplice in the double homicide, for which Simpson was acquitted. Both Simpson and Joey Ippolito are deceased. Joey Ippolito's widow Nicole Ippolito sent an email to outlets calling the project "woefully misguided" and describing its sources as "scam artists" and "drug addicts" engaged in a "money grab."
Peacock moved up the release from December to Sunday morning following a New York Times article covering the same theory using similar source material. Mark told THR he had helped with the Times piece and would have preferred a coordinated release to better leverage the newspaper's credibility.