Johnnie Cochran - Popular Culture

Popular Culture

Before Cochran's nationwide fame in the Simpson trial, actor Denzel Washington interviewed Cochran as part of his research for the movie Philadelphia.

After the Simpson trial, Cochran himself was a frequent commentator on law-related television shows. In addition to being featured on television shows, he hosted his own show, Johnnie Cochran Tonight, on CourtTV. With the Simpson fame also came movie deals.

As a result of Cochran's record in high-profile trials, popular culture has enshrined him as representative of a successful lawyer. Chris Rock's character, Detective Butters, advised a suspect in Lethal Weapon 4 that he had the right to an attorney, but "If you get Johnnie Cochran, I’ll kill you!". Individuals from Bernie Mac in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, to 1997's Jackie Brown, to Tommy Davidson in the film Woo have all touted Cochran as their solution in a jam. Wyclef Jean in his song "Thug Angels" and Too Short in his song "Gettin' It" have mentioned Cochran as a lawyer of choice. He was portrayed by William S. Taylor in the 2004 Michael Jackson biopic Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story.

Cochran was also referenced on the sketch comedy show MadTV when character Bunifa Halifa Sharifa Jackson (played by Debra Wilson) is going through airport security and yells at the TSA agent, "Get your hands 'offa me before Johnnie Cochran subpoena yo' ass!" Cochran was also mentioned later in the sketch.

On an episode of Martin, Martin panics when he receives a phone call from the district attorney's office (regarding a parolee) and exclaims, "Aw, damn! Somebody get me Johnnie Cochran!"

In the pilot episode of the short lived NBC sitcom Whoopi, Whoopi Goldberg's character, Mavis Rae, says to his brother "you could be the next Johnnie Cochran".

In the episode "Chef Aid" of TV Show South Park, Johnnie Cochran is hired by a record company who sues the character Chef for harassment. In his closing argument he employs the Chewbacca defense, a parody of his closing statement in the Simpson trial; "If it doesn't fit ('it' being the fact that Chewbacca, an 8' tall Wookiee, lives on Endor, which is populated by tiny Ewoks), you must acquit! The defense rests."

In the TV show Angel, the evil law firm, Wolfram and Hart, is mostly composed of demons and daemonic familiars, and is described as "the law firm that Johnnie Cochran is too ethical to join" in one episode.

Cochran was also parodied in the form of attorney Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld.

Cochran and his signature phrase ("if it doesn't fit, you must acquit") has been parodied many times as well: on Batman: The Animated Series ("If a man's filled with glee, that man must go free" and "If the Bat's on a spree, Wayne must pay the fee"), Justice League ("If the ring wasn't lit, you must acquit."), That's So Raven ("If the dress does not fit, you must acquit," and "If the dress is the wrong size, you must apologize."), WMAC Masters, and The Nanny ("The skirt is snug. And if the skirt doesn't fit, you must acquit.").

Cochran himself took these parodies in stride, discussing them in his autobiography, A Lawyer's Life. Furthermore, he appeared in The Hughleys, Family Matters, The Howard Stern Show, Arli$$, CHiPs '99, Bamboozled, Showtime and JAG.

Cochran is mentioned in the songs Ain't No Cure For Love by Bon Jovi, Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous by Good Charlotte, Gettin' It by Too Short, Thug Angels by Wyclef Jean, What U Doin? by Big Sean, "Ricky" by rapper The Game and "Used To Love Her" by Body Count.

In the song "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream" from the Tony-winning musical "The Book of Mormon", Cochran is mentioned as one of the inhabitants of Hell who "got O.J. free" along with Hitler, Genghis Khan, and Jeffrey Dahmer.