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As it happenedended

OJ Simpson made all visitors, including family, sign NDAs in final days before his death

OJ Simpson was infamously acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and waiter Ron Goldman in the so-called ‘trial of the century’ — and spent the rest of his life leaning into his notoriety

Graig Graziosi,Tom Watling
Monday 15 April 2024 14:06 EDT
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OJ Simpson dies at age 76, family says

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OJ Simpson is said to have made all visitors, including his family, sign non-disclosure agreements to visit him in the days before his death.

In the 1990s, he became arguably the most infamous man in America after he was charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, a waiter, who were stabbed to death. The trial in 1995 dominated the news for months, sparking contentious debate about fame, domestic abuse and racist treatment of Black Americans by the police. He was ultimately acquitted.

In 1997 Simpson was found liable for the pair’s deaths in a civil proceeding. Simpson was ordered to pay $33.5 million in a judgment, but managed to avoid paying significant damages.

Sources with direct knowledge have told TMZ that somewhere between 30 to 50 people – made up of friends and other family – saw OJ in person at his home in Las Vegas before he died on Wednesday. They are all said to signed the NDAs, and no phones were allowed in the room with Simpson.

Simpson was battling prostate cancer, according to his family.

Now, Malcolm LaVergn, the executor of Simpson’s estate, has vowed to prevent the payout of a $33.5m judgement to the families of Goldman and Brown Simpson, saying that he hopes to ensure that Goldman’s family, in particular, “get nothing”.

Speaking to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Mr LaVergn, who represented Simpson for the last 15 years of his life, said: “It’s my hope that the Goldmans get zero, nothing.

“Them specifically. And I will do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure that they get nothing.”

OJ Simpson obituary: The football star and actor turned celebrity murder defendant

OJ Simpson, the American football star and actor who was acquitted in a sensational 1995 trial of murdering his former wife but was found responsible for her death in a civil lawsuit and was later imprisoned for armed robbery and kidnapping, has died at the age of 76.

Simpson, cleared by a Los Angeles jury in what the U.S. media called “the trial of the century,” had died on Wednesday after a battle with cancer, his family posted on social media on Thursday.

Simpson avoided prison when he was found not guilty in the 1994 stabbing deaths of former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. Simpson later served nine years in a Nevada prison after being convicted in 2008 on 12 counts of armed robbery and kidnapping two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel.

Nicknamed “The Juice,” Simpson was one of the best and most popular athletes of the late 1960s and 1970s. He overcame childhood infirmity to become an electrifying running back at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player. After a record-setting career in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

READ MORE:

OJ Simpson’s story gripped the world: A timeline of his fall from grace

He overcame childhood illness to become a football legend, but when he was charged with murdering his ex-wife and her friend, his very name divided America

Graig Graziosi12 April 2024 15:30

OJ Simpson was ‘delusional’ during infamous interview, Ruby Wax says

Ruby Wax has said OJ Simpson was “delusional” and that he “didn’t know what he had done” whilst reflecting on their 1998 interview.

The TV personality interviewed the former NFL player in 1998 after he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Friday, 12 April, the comedian described her time with Simpson in Los Angeles.

She claims he repeatedly joked about the death of his Brown, once phoning Ms Wax to joke “I killed her”.

Simpson died of cancer on Wednesday 10 April aged 76.

OJ Simpson was ‘delusional’ during infamous interview, Ruby Wax says

Ruby Wax has said OJ Simpson was "delusional" and that he "didn't know what he had done" whilst reflecting on their 1998 interview. The TV personality interviewed the former NFL player in 1998 after he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994. Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Friday, 12 April, the comedian described her time with Simpson in Los Angeles. She claims he repeatedly joked about the death of his Brown, once phoning Ms Wax to joke "I killed her". Simpson died of cancer on Wednesday 10 April aged 76.

Tom Watling12 April 2024 15:38

Murder victims’ families to pursue damages from OJ Simpson’s estate – and could be owed up to $100m

The families of OJ Simpson’s alleged victims have vowed to seek damages after his death from prostate cancer.

Simpson, who died in Las Vegas on Wednesday at the age of 76, was acquitted in 1995 of the double murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in what was dubbed as the “trial of the century” before being found liable for the pair’s deaths in a civil proceeding two years later and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victim’s families.

However, the American football star managed to avoid ever paying significant damages, with the Goldman estate only receiving about $123,000 before Simpson’s death.

READ MORE:

Murder victims’ families to pursue damages from OJ Simpson’s estate

‘Is there money to be had? Hopefully. Do I know exactly what it is? No, but we’ll figure that out soon’

Graig Graziosi12 April 2024 16:10

WATCH: Race and the OJ Simpson trial

Race and the OJ Simpson trial
Graig Graziosi12 April 2024 16:25

Watch: Oprah audience reacts to OJ Simpson trial verdict in resurfaced clip

Watch: Oprah audience reacts to OJ Simpson trial verdict in resurfaced clip

Watch as the audience of The Oprah Winfrey Show react to the verdict of OJ Simpson’s trial in a resurfaced clip. The former athlete was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994 and his acquittal the following year after the “trial of the century” was watched around the world. The verdict was streamed live to Oprah’s audience on 3 October 1995, with cheers breaking out as Simpson was acquitted on both counts of murder. Simpson died aged 76 on Wednesday 10 April, his family confirmed.

Graig Graziosi12 April 2024 16:58

In death, O.J. Simpson and his trial verdict still reflect America's racial divides

For many people old enough to remember O.J. Simpson’s murder trial, his 1995 exoneration was a defining moment in their understanding of race, policing and justice. Nearly three decades later, it still reflects the different realities of white and Black Americans.

Some people recall watching their Black coworkers and classmates erupting in jubilation at perceived retribution over institutional racism. Others remember their white counterparts shocked over what many felt was overwhelming evidence of guilt. Both reactions reflected different experiences with a criminal justice system that continues to disproportionately punish Black Americans.

Simpson, who died Wednesday, remains a symbol of racial divisions in American society because he is a reminder of how deeply the inequities are felt, even as newer figures have come to symbolize the struggles around racism, policing and justice.

READ MORE:

In death, O.J. Simpson and his trial verdict still reflect America's racial divides

For many people old enough to remember O.J. Simpson’s murder trial, his 1994 exoneration was a defining moment in their understanding of race, policing and justice

Graig Graziosi12 April 2024 17:45

Watch: Shrek 2 recreates OJ Simpson car chase in resurfaced footage

Watch: Shrek 2 recreates OJ Simpson car chase in resurfaced footage

Shrek 2's nod to the OJ Simpson car chase has resurfaced following the news of the former American football star's death aged 76. Ninety-five million Americans watched as the former American football running back’s white Ford Bronco, driven by his friend Al Cowlings with Simpson in the back with a handgun, led police on a 90-minute-long pursuit on 17 June 1994 after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were murdered. He was acquitted in a trial the following year. The chase was recreated in the 2004 Dreamworks film, in which a "dispatcher" says "We’ve got a white bronco heading east into the forest" referring to the horse Donkey turns into.

Graig Graziosi12 April 2024 18:10

Shrek 2 scene inspired by OJ Simpson car chase resurfaces

A clip from Shrek 2 featuring a spoof of OJ Simpson’s infamous 1994 car chase has resurfaced following the death of the former American football star on Wednesday (10 April), aged 76.

Five days after the 1994 murders of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, he fled in his white Ford Bronco with a former teammate, carrying his passport and a disguise. The slow-motion car chase over the LA freeways captured global attention.

In the wake of Simpson’s death, fans are remembering the event’s parody in DreamWork’s Shrek sequel.

READ MORE:

Shrek 2 scene inspired by OJ Simpson car chase resurfaces

When Simpson became the prime suspect in the murders of his ex-wife and her friend, he attempted to flee south in a white Ford Bronco

Graig Graziosi12 April 2024 18:37

Kim Kardashian refused to comment on OJ Simpson’s innocence

Kim Kardashian told David Letterman in 2020 that she would not comment on OJ Simpson’s guilt or innocence out of respect for his children.

“I’ve never expressed how I’ve felt about that because I just respect his children,” she said at the time.

Kardashian’s father, Robert Kardashian, was a friend of Simpson’s at the time of the trial.

She said the trial “tore my family apart.”

“We didn’t really know what to believe or whose side to take as kids, because we didn’t want to hurt one of our parents’ feelings,” she told Letterman.

Graig Graziosi12 April 2024 18:50

‘RIP Nordberg’ — ‘Naked Gun’ director remembers OJ Simpson

Before his murder trial, OJ Simpson had moved from the world of football into the world of Hollywood.

He played the character “Nordberg” in the Naked Gun movies, where his character frequently was injured in increasingly absurd scenarios.

David Zucker, who directed the films, commented on Simpson’s death and his acting and included a barb about his murder trial that first appeared in a book about his films.

“R.I.P. Nordberg. ‘His acting was a lot like his murdering: He got away with it, but no one believed him,’” Zucker wrote.

Graig Graziosi12 April 2024 19:15

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