TESTIFYING in court for the first time since the 1994 murders of his ex-wife and her friend, O.J. Simpson repeatedly denied yesterday that he ever beat Nicole Brown Simpson and claimed she struck him "numerous times".
Under sometimes blistering interrogation by the plaintiffs' lead lawyer, Mr Daniel Petrocelli, the former football star took the witness stand for what is expected to be three full days of testimony in his wrongful death civil trial.
Mr Petrocelli began by confronting Simpson with the domestic violence allegations that have haunted him since his criminal trial, which ended in October 1995 with his acquittal on double-murder charges.
While jurors looked at photos of a bruised, battered Nicole Brown Simpson projected on a giant courtroom TV screen, Simpson denied abusing his ex-wife and said she lied when she wrote in her journals and told others that he had beaten her.
Instead, contradicting the testimony of witnesses in both trials, Simpson portrayed himself as the victim of an erratic and sometimes violent woman. He said that even after their 1992 divorce, she was the one who pursued him.
It was the first courtroom confrontation between Simpson and opposing lawyers representing the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, who have brought a civil case seeking to find him responsible - and financially liable - for the murders.
Testifying as a "hostile" witness, Simpson started off speaking calmly. But as the questioning turned combative, he at times became exasperated, sighing heavily and clenching his fists in front of him. Goldman's father, Fred, and sister, Kim, glared at Simpson from the spectators' galleries.
Lawyers for the families have contended that Simpson abused, stalked and threatened his ex-wife, fin ally killing her in June 1994 when he could no longer control her.
Simpson testified that Nicole Brown Simpson physically attacked him in his Brentwood mansion one night in 1989 and that in defending himself he put her in a headlock and wrestled her out of the bedroom.
"At that time, I was being wrongly physical with her," Simpson admitted, saying he took responsibility for the incident.
As jurors were shown photos of Nicole Brown Simpson, Simpson said he could not remember causing her injuries - including a cut lip and swollen eye - but suggested that "a lot of this redness would be there when she picked and cleaned her face". The incident resulted in Simpson pleading no contest - equivalent to an admission of guilt under California law - to spousal abuse.
Simpson testified that he and his ex-wife sometimes had heated arguments but that she was usually the aggressor. Asked how many times she struck him during the course of their 17-year relationship, Simpson replied "numerous times". But he said he "never" hit, struck, slapped, or choked her.
Simpson brushed aside questions about a 1993 incident - in which police were called after he broke down the door of her home - saying "nobody was hurt".
At one point, Mr Petrocelli asked in dramatic fashion: "How many times did you beat her, sir?"
"Never," Simpson answered firmly.
Several legal analysts who attended the session said Petrocelli had succeeded in damaging Simpson's credibility.
"He persistently minimised and rationalised his own involvement (in domestic disputes)," said Mr Peter Arenella, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles. "I think he has hurt himself very badly with the jury."
While Simpson chose not to testify at his criminal trial, the rules of civil procedure required him to either take the witness stand or forfeit the case, which could have cost him millions of dollars in damages.