Lee Celano/WireImageIt's time to feel what they feel. Or at least, a tiny sliver of it.
Although the victims' families so far haven't been fully supportive of FX's new miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson, they are front and center in tonight's fourth episode, in what is perhaps the most emotionally gripping moment so far.
In the episode, Ron Goldman's father and sister meet with lead prosecutor Marcia Clark, who, seemingly at a loss for words, reassures them, "I know what you're going through."
"Do you?" Fred Goldman scoffs, through tears and a trembling voice. "Do you have a son who was murdered? Ron is dead and it's like no one even cares. I turn on the TV and it's just O.J. and Nicole, O.J. and Nicole. It's like Ron was a footnote to his own murder…It's like they're trying to tarnish him, like he was asking for it."
The chilling scene goes on from there, in which a visibly shaken and emotional Goldman, played remarkably well by Joseph Siravo, walks us through what kind of person Ron Goldman was, and why "he deserved to be celebrated…not this."
In real life, Fred Goldman recently spoken out about the FX miniseries, saying, "We have a whole new generation who never saw this take place and is now going to see this series and assume that everything in this series is fact," he told Dr. Phil. "And that's very troubling to me."
Jeffrey Toobin, who wrote the book on which the miniseries is based, and who says he knows the Goldmans "very well," told E! News that he hopes this scene in tonight's episode might alter people's minds about the show's intentions. "No one can know their pain, but you can respect their pain and that's what we tried to do," he explained.
For his part, star Cuba Gooding Jr., who plays O.J., also says he deeply sympathizes with the Goldmans and the Browns. "I just hope that they find some peace because I can't imagine what they're going through," he told E! News when asked if there's anything he'd like to tell the families. "I want people to know that we had the best intentions to bring our artistry to the lives and the events surrounding that trial and the personalities that were surrounding it as well," Gooding adds.
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story airs tonight on FX.