HARPERCOLLINS TERMINATES JUDITH REGAN.

High-profile publisher Judith Regan, who had spearheaded the would-be publication of O.J. Simpson's book, "If I Did It," was fired on Friday.

"Judith Regan's employment with HarperCollins has been terminated effective immediately," HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman said in a statement late Friday. "The REGAN publishing program and staff will continue as part of the HarperCollins General Books Group."

Friedman offered no reason for the decision or details of any kind. But her statement comes just weeks after Murdoch's cancellation of Simpson's hypothetical murder confession, "If I Did It," a planned book and Fox television interview that Regan vehemently defended but was greeted with instant and near-universal disgust.

At the time, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch took the unusual step of issuing a public apology amid the onslaught of negative publicity over the project reports MarketWatch.

O.J. Simpson recently admitted he participated in the ill-fated "If I Did It" book and interview project for one reason - personal profit, acknowledging that any financial gain was "blood money".

"This was an opportunity for my kids to get their financial legacy," Simpson said in interviews this week after the book deal was abandoned by its publisher.

"My kids understand. I made it clear that it's blood money, but it's no different than any of the other writers who did books on this case," Simpson said.

The book, said to describe how he theoretically would have committed the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, had been scheduled for release on November 30 following the airing of a two-part Simpson interview on Fox on Monday and Wednesday.

"She's a tremendously inventive publisher, but I guess she just pushed the envelope too far," said Jonathan Karp, publisher of the Warner Twelve imprint at the Hachette Book Group.

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The 53-year-old Regan, a former National Enquirer reporter, has been turning out hits since the 1980s, including books by Howard Stern, Drew Barrymore and Rush Limbaugh. An industry outsider, and proud of it, Regan has been labeled a "foul-mouthed tyrant" and the "enfant terrible of American publishing."

Longtime ReganBooks author Jess Walter said he was "flabbergasted" by her firing.

"I think Judith was misunderstood by people," said Walter, a National Book Award finalist last month for his novel, "The Zero."

"The Judith I knew was nothing like the tabloid headlines," he said. "Judith has always been a good friend and one of the few people who never lied to me. Having dealt with publishing and Hollywood, I can't say that about everyone."