O.J. Simpson Mimed Wife's Slaughter Using A Banana: Ruby Wax Recalls 'Insane' Attack

Ruby Wax has stirred fresh shock after recounting a disturbing moment with O.J. Simpson during a BBC interview filmed in 1998. She described how Simpson pretended to reenact his ex-wife's brutal death with a banana during filming in Los Angeles.

Wax shared her story on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! on 27 November 2023, calling it one of her most unsettling encounters in broadcasting. Her memory of that night remains sharp due to Simpson's behaviour and due to the tense climate surrounding him at the time. Viewers revisited her 1990s BBC series Ruby Wax Meets... after hearing her account.

Wax: 'It Was His Idea of a Joke'

Wax met Simpson in Los Angeles while preparing a documentary four years after his criminal acquittal. She said their interview ended smoothly, yet he told her a surprise waited outside her hotel suite. She believed he planned something playful.

Wax said, 'After we finished filming, Simpson said to me that he has a surprise for me, and I genuinely was surprised. I think it was his idea of a joke'.

Footage from that night shows him at her door with a banana. He pushed forward with a screech as he stared into a camera held by someone from his team. Wax said he waited outside her suite until she opened the door.

She remembered numerous room-service trays scattered across the corridor and told campmates that Simpson searched those trays for a knife before settling on a banana.

Wax recalled filming a short introduction near her room before the encounter. She planned a moment involving a mystery guest behind her door. That plan changed once Simpson appeared in that corridor.

Wax said, 'When he was out there, all the trays were out there, and he was looking for a knife, to fool me when the door was open, but there was no knife, so he grabbed a banana'. She said that memory stayed vivid because she felt stunned and confused.

Simpson Made a Chilling Phone Call to Wax

Wax said Simpson phoned her later on 1 April. She repeated his words to campmates. He said, 'I killed her, April Fools!' She described the call as chilling and calculated.

Wax also recalled how he recited a rhyme about Lizzie Borden during their first meeting and called it his favourite poem. She said that detail added more unease because of his history with high-profile violence.

She told fellow contestants Alex Scott and Shona McGarty that her 1998 meeting with Simpson felt like navigating a dangerous psychological space.

She said, 'That was insane. He tried to kill me with a banana. He said, "I did it", and then said, "April Fool's". Because he wanted to get caught, he couldn't live with the guilt'.

Her words sparked strong reactions online, with viewers calling her brave for sharing a story she rarely described in such depth. Scott later said she grew up watching Ruby Wax Meets and praised Wax's work.

Wax Also Recalls Encounter With Trump: 'Total Insanity'

Wax also spoke about encounters from her long-running BBC series, which featured guests such as Pamela Anderson, Madonna, and US President Donald Trump.

Her 1999 session with Trump remains, in her view, her most chaotic interview. Wax said, 'I did Trump. I know what his brain is like. Total insanity and anger, and arrogance. Bill Crosby was insane, too'.

She described how Trump ended their conversation abruptly after she laughed when he said he wanted to run for president.

She said he snapped at her and told her, 'That's enough, you're the most obnoxious person I've ever met'. Wax said that moment showed how unpredictable some interviews could become.

Her recollections created a major talking point in camp and online. Many viewers praised her honesty and said her stories reminded them why her interviews shaped 1990s television. Wax said she felt those years carried both risk and insight, due to how unpredictable each guest could be.