OJ Simpson’s lawyer is not a fan of his client. Yale Galanter, whom Simpson has fought with since his 2008 Las Vegas imprisonment, shared his thoughts with Kim Goldman, sister of Ronald Goldman. A civil jury found Simpson responsible for the June 1994 murders of Ronald Goldman and Simpson’s ex wife Nicole Brown.

Now Kim Goldman has published a book six weeks before the 20th anniversary of those heinous crimes. She says that a few years ago she attempted to visit Simpson in prison, where he’s serving a long term not for the murders but for a heist gone wrong. She spoke to Galanter to arrange it, saying she needed “closure.”

Galanter did not mince words. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t think you are going to get what you are looking for. Most of us think that if your family sat down with someone that has harmed you all these times— I mean, after all this time, that you would expect an empathetic and compassionate person, but you will probably get a defiant, aggressive, not nice human. I don’t think he is who you think he is.”

Galanter continued:  “Let me tell you, human to human, he’s not a warm and fuzzy guy. There is a good chance that you will be more distraught when you leave than you thought. If you are expecting to get an empathetic and emotional person on the other side of the table, you won’t get that. You know, I need to be careful, ’cause he is my client, but, Kim, he is not the affable, jovial person that the media makes him out to be. His view of the world and reality are two totally different things. He’s not a nice guy.”

Ultimately Goldman decided not to go through with it after Galanter demanded total secrecy and confidentiality about any meeting.

“Can’t Forgive: My 20 Year Battle with OJ Simpson” is published today– May 6th– by BenBella Books. Goldman could have used an editor. The book is too much about her, with very little insight about her brother. There’s also very little detail of her courtroom experiences, but lots about her personal life. (I’m sorry, but it’s not interesting.) Also, there’s nothing about the Goldmans’ interactions with Nicole Brown’s family. A missed opportunity, on many levels.

Monica Lewinsky has written an essay in the new issue of Vanity Fair. She says: “It’s time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress.” She adds: “I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton. Let me say it again: I. Myself. Deeply. Regret. What. Happened.”

She does say that the affair– yes, they had sex, even though Clinton said it was otherwise– was “between two consenting adults.”

Lewinsky writes how the episode changed her life. “Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship. Any ‘abuse’ came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position…. The Clinton administration, the special prosecutor’s minions, the political operatives on both sides of the aisle, and the media were able to brand me. And that brand stuck, in part because it was imbued with power.”

After the scandal, Lewinsky traveled and received a Master’s Degree from the London School of Economics.

But her history was always an issue on her resume. “I was never ‘quite right’ for the position. In some cases, I was right for all the wrong reasons, as in ‘Of course, your job would require you to attend our events.’ And, of course, these would be events at which press would be in attendance.” The result is that she’s “managed to get by (barely, at times) with my own projects, usually with start-ups that I have participated in, or with loans from friends and family.”

Well, this is special: the Motion Picture and TV Fund will not have their next “The Night Before” event at the Beverly Hills Hotel next February. They’re citing the owner’s anti-gay policies. But the Motion Picture Home is still a pretty bad facility with overpaid executives and not enough proper care. This is a good diversion for them. Hilarious.

Yes, the Sultan of Brunei, owner of the Dorchester Collection hotels, is anti-gay everything. That’s deplorable, of course. But it’s funny to hear overpaid Bob Beitcher ($800K a year) taking high moral ground. The home in Woodland Hills just went through a bruising period during which they sought to close their long term care facility. They forced residents out, and incited protests that went on for three years.

More recently they were the subject of a scathing report about conditions and health care in 2012 that has never been fully addressed.

But they’re very worried about where their photo op will be next February, and where celebrities can pick up their gift bags.

Now, a more important question: what happens to the Night of 100 Stars on Oscar night? Do they move too? And a dozen or more other events? Does all of Hollywood pull out of the BHH? And does the Sultan care?  The people at the Four Seasons must be jumping for joy!

As for “The Night Before”: go on over to the Beverly Hilton. The welcome mat is out!

Tonight: the embattled James Beard Foundation gives a bunch of awards to restaurateurs. On Friday, they handed out their journalism and media awards. I’m told the food was lousy, which is funny.

Not so funny: the Foundation is a not for profit, 501 c 3. Set up in memory of the famed chef James Beard in a townhouse on West 12th St., the Foundation lists its mission “to celebrate, nurture, and honor America’s diverse culinary heritage through programs that educate and inspire.”

Ten years ago, in 2004, the Foundation was embroiled in a huge scandal over misappropriation of funds. Members of the board resigned. It was a big mess.  The New York Times reported that “an internal audit had found that the former board president, Leonard F. Pickell Jr., had misused hundreds of thousands of dollars in foundation money.” Of $4.7 million in income, only $29,000 was used for scholarships. He was later convicted of fraud.

Susan Ungaro, former editor of Family Circle magazine, replaced Pickell in 2006.

The group’s Form 990 for 2012 suggests not much has changed.

These numbers should make everyone attending Monday night’s event a little queasy:

Total revenue in 2012 was $7 million.

Their expenses for 2012 came to a whopping $6.7 million

Salary of president Susan Ungaro: $335,910

Amount doled out in scholarships: $168,955.

Thirty eight culinary students received a total of $161,215 in scholarships. Two students divided $7,740 for travel and culinary study grants.

Another $70,000 was divided between the Mario Batali Foundation ($20,000) and one named for French legend Paul Bocuse ($50,648). Back in 2004, Batali admitted to the New York Times: “I vote on best chef Southeast with perhaps never having eaten at any of the contending chefs’ restaurants, which in truth results in little more than a popularity contest.”

Even the event planner for the 2012 James Beard Awards, David Bowen of Philadelphia, got more about twice as much as  the students; he received $296,000.

Indeed total salaries for 2012 broken down this way:

$628,746 to current officers.

Other salaries and wages: $1.5 million

Other employee benefits $242,767

Payroll taxes: 153,360

“Other”: $922,074. That’s almost a million dollars for unspecified something. Spatulas?

And the “other” didn’t include “office expenses.” They were listed as $400,836. That’s a lot of napkins.