February 5, 1996
Web posted at:1:00 a.m. EST
From Entertainment Correspondent Gloria Hillard
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Former O.J. Simpson trial juror Tracy Hampton has turned the tables on the press. Once the media pursued her and she tried to hide from the cameras. But lately it has been Hampton who is doing the pursuing -- first Playboy's cameras for a centerfold shot and then the media's cameras on Monday as she worked to promote her modeling and acting career.
After serving nearly four months on the Simpson jury, Hampton asked to be dismissed because of medical reasons. She says the verdict might have been different if she had remained on the jury. "If I had to vote at that time, I would have voted for his guilt," she said. (43K AIFF sound or 43K WAV sound)
Hampton, a TWA flight attendant, said she was surprised when she first heard that the jury had found O.J. Simpson not guilty of murdering his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman. (111K AIFF sound or 111K WAV sound)
She decided to use Playboy to boost her chances of making it in Hollywood. "My management thought it would be a good idea to pose for Playboy because of my acting career I've been pursuing for sometime now," she said.
Hampton says she is working with an acting coach and she is somewhat of a celebrity. "(People recognize me) as the O.J. juror who is posing for Playboy," she says. "Or the flight attendant on the trial or even when I'm working -- the passengers recognize me."
"I remember when I was released from the jury and the media came crashing down on me, but now I'm back to my normal life," says Hampton as she autographs a Playboy magazine. "And Playboy has given me this wonderful opportunity."
Hampton is not the first Simpson juror to try to capitalize on the fame associated with the sensational trial. Dismissed juror Michael Knox wrote a book called "The Private Diary of a Juror." "Madam Foreman," a book by three jurors, was just released, and two other Simpson jurors plan on selling their diaries.
But when it comes to publicity, this ex-Simpson juror is hoping these pictures -- as the saying goes -- will be worth a thousand words.
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