OJ Simpson, the former NFL star who was acquitted in a notorious double murder trial, died at his Las Vegas home on Wednesday after battling prostate cancer. He was 76 years old.
In 1994, five days after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death, Simpson was charged with the murder of both individuals. Simpson infamously led police on a 60-mile low-speed chase in Los Angeles for two hours, threatening to kill himself with a handgun, before ultimately surrendering.
Simpson’s trial would attract extensive media attention over the next year, with Robert Kardashian working as one of the six attorneys on his defense team. Robert, who passed away in 2003 from esophageal cancer, met Simpson when they were students at the University of Southern California. The two quickly became close friends and business partners, investing in the company Juice Inc and Concert Cinema.
Robert married Kristen Mary Houghton (now known as Kris Jenner) in 1978 and they welcomed four children - Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, and Robert Kardashian Jr - who all referred to Simpson and his former wife as “Uncle OJ” and “Auntie Nicole”.
However, Robert’s decision to defend Simpson divided his family. During the trial, Kris was spotted sitting on the prosecution side of the courtroom in support of Nicole. Kim, 43, previously admitted the trial put a strain on their family in conversation with Dr Phil in 2009.
Since then, speculation about the famous family’s relationship with Simpson has circulated.
Here is a detailed history on Khloe, Kris, Kourtney, and Kim’s relationship with OJ Simpson.
Khloe Kardashian
Internet rumours have long claimed that Kris and Simpson had an affair while the “momager” was still married to Robert. These rumours later divulged into theories that Khloe, 39, was Simpson’s daughter.
In 2013, Ellen Pierson - Robert’s wife at the time he died - gave an interview in which she claimed he’d previously confided in her about not being Khloe’s biological father. Khloe later spoke out against Pierson for talking about her father after he had passed away.
In 2016, Khloe also poked fun at the theory after an Instagram troll told her she “looked white” in the selfie she had posted. “I don’t know… Some days I’m OJs daughter. Others I’m Roberts daughter,” she wrote back. One year later, Khloe called the theorists “a**holes” and “haters”.
Internet trolls slammed Khloe with the same conspiracy theory after she had welcomed daughter True Thompson with then-boyfriend Tristan Thompson. Some critics argued that Khloe had to be Simpson’s daughter due to the colour of True’s skin.
“I mean… her dad is Black silly,” the Good American founder responded on Instagram. “That’s why she’s Black babe.”
Meanwhile, Simpson has publicly denied their rumoured link multiple times. “Never - and I want to stress, never, in any shape or form - have I ever had any interest in Kris, romantically or sexually, and I never got any indication that she had any interest in me. So all of these stories are bogus, bad, tasteless,” Simpson said in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2019.
He continued: “Khloé, like all the girls, I am very proud of just like I know Bob would be if he was here. But the simple facts of the matter is she is not mine.”
Simpson once again denied the theory that he’s Khloe’s father during a 2022 appearance on the Full Send podcast, saying: “The rumour ain’t true. It’s not even anywhere close to being true.”
Kris Jenner
The 68-year-old mother of six was “best friends” with Simpson and his wife when they were married. Speaking to People in 2016, Kris described the former couple as her “family”.
“They were two of the best friends I ever had in my entire life. They were my family. OJ was like my big brother,” she admitted, ahead of the release of FX’s American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson. “So I not only mourned the loss of Nicole, but I mourned the loss of OJ and that relationship.”
Kris met Simpson and Brown when she was 17 years old. She and Robert would spend time with the couple over two decades, growing close on family vacations and celebrating major life milestones. Kris and Robert divorced in 1991, three years before Brown and Goldman were murdered.
The reality star has continuously said that Brown’s death could’ve been prevented, and that she feels guilty about not seeing the signs of “abuse” between Brown and Simpson. During the trial, Kris was seen sitting next to Brown’s parents.
Rumours that Kris and Simpson had an affair while she was married to Robert have followed the two of them for years. On the anniversary of Brown’s death in 2019, a news outlet had published a piece claiming Kris and Simpson had been sleeping together. During an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians that year, Kris became emotional about the speculation.
“After 25 years, you’d think it just wouldn’t be a thing,” she said to Khloe. “It’s just lie after lie after lie after lie, and it’s only so much that one human being can take.” She then admitted to “taking legal action” against the publication for publishing the misinformation.
Kris ultimately paid homage to her friend by giving her second youngest daughter Kendall Jenner the moniker “Nicole” as her middle name.
Kim Kardashian
The Skims creator, who’s now pursuing a career in law, was 13 years old when Simpson went on trial for the double murders of Brown and Goldman.
Kim has candidly spoken about the repercussions that Simpson’s trial had on their family, specifically her father’s decision to be an active member on his defense team. While Kris refused to support Simpson, Kim has admitted she stuck by her father’s side.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2015, the Skkn CEO said: “We just always thought my dad was the smartest person in the world, and he really believed in his friend.”
“Kourtney and I were drawn to our dad. We felt like Mom was happily remarried, so we would live with Dad. We didn’t want him to be by himself,” Kim told GQ in 2023. She also remembered her dad pulling her and Kourtney out of school to attend the trial with him and seeing her mom on the opposite side of the courtroom. According to Kim, Kris was displeased they weren’t at school and confused as to why they were there.
Kourtney Kardashian
The Poosh owner was 14 years old during the Simpson trial. Like Kim, Kourtney was also picked up from school by her father and taken to court with him.
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