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
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.”
From NFL all-star to public enemy number one: OJ Simpson’s life after the trial of the century
Until 1994, OJ Simpson was known as an All-American hero – celebrated for his prowess on the American football field and later a successful career on both the big and small screen.
These triumphs earned Simpson a stratospheric rise, which came crashing down after he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
With the help of Kardashian family patriarch Robert Kardashian – his lawyer – he was acquitted of murder in 1995, though his glittering public image was irreparably damaged.
READ MORE:
OJ Simpson’s life after the trial of the century
Gloria Allred, attorney who represented Nicole Brown’s family, on Simpson’s death
Famed attorney Gloria Allred, who represented Nicole Brown’s family during OJ Simpson’s murder trial, released a statement on Thursday following the news of his death.
She said his death was a reminder of how the legal system continues to fail women.
“Simpson’s death reminds us that the legal system even 30 years later is still failing battered women, and that the power of celebrity men to avoid true justice for the harm that they inflict on their wives or significant others is still a major obstacle to the right of women to be free of the gender violence to which they are still subjected,” she said.
Moment OJ Simpson holds gun to head in Kim Kardashian’s bedroom in TV show
Moment OJ Simpson holds gun to head in Kim Kardashian’s bedroom in TV show
OJ Simpson’s fall from grace: The NFL superstar turned murder suspect and convicted kidnapper
Twenty-nine years ago, in 1995, the world was gripped by what the US media called “the trial of the century”, in which American football star and actor OJ Simpson was accused of murdering his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and friend Ron Goldman. They had been viciously stabbed to death.
Simpson was a superstar of sport and screen in the US, but in the UK what really made him famous was the live television coverage of police chasing his car through the streets of Los Angeles – as viewers were stunned by a celebrity becoming a wanted man.
Other drivers got out of their cars to cheer him on, in what became a real-life highlight of television history.
The story of how the American hero was suspected of turning into a villain played out dramatically in court, in one of the most notorious trials in 20th-century America.
READ MORE:
OJ Simpson’s story gripped the world: A timeline of his fall from grace
Goldman family attorney: Simpson ‘died without penance'
The attorney for the family of Ron Goldman, David Cook, told The Independent that Simpson “died without penance” in an interview on Thursday.
“When people die without penance, it means they are really stuck. If they die without penance they will still not see God,” he said.
Who was OJ Simpson before his wife’s infamous murder? The football star aspiring to film fame
Before OJ Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife and her friend – and sensationally acquitted at the “trial of the century” in 1995 – he was already a household name in the United States.
The former athlete – who died on Wednesday aged 76 after a battle with cancer – had effectively parlayed his NFL superstar status into acting and advertising stardom.
He was known for his self-deprecating on-screen appearances, and was the face of Hertz car rentals with the slogan: “The superstar in a rent-a-car.”
READ MORE:
Who was OJ Simpson before the murder of his wife?
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 obituary: The football star and actor turned celebrity murder defendant
Football hall of fame president remembers Simpson
Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter released a brief statement on the death of OJ Simpson.
“OJ Simpson was the first player to reach a rushing mark many thought could not be attained in a 14-game season when he topped 2,000 yards. His on-field contributions will be preserved in the Hall’s archives in Canton, Ohio,” Jim Porter said.
Norm Macdonald’s scathing OJ takedowns on SNL resurface
Following the announcement of the death of OJ Simpson, Saturday Night Live fans are sharing compilations of Norm Macdonald roasting the infamous NFL star.
Macdonald, who died in 2021 aged 61, was known for his regular jokes about Simpson following the latter’s 1995 acquittal for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman the previous year.
The comedian took aim at Simpson during the Weekend Update segment of the show, and later claimed he was fired over the repeated jibes.
“In his book, OJ Simpsons says he would’ve taken a bullet or stood in front of a train for Nicole. Man, I’m going to tell you, that is some bad luck when the one guy who would’ve died for you kills you,” Macdonald said in one episode before the verdict.
White House says ‘thoughts’ are with Simpson family
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Joe Biden’s thoughts were with the family of OJ Simpson following his death during the White House press briefing on Thursday.
“I’ll say this, our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time, obviously with his family and loved ones. And I’ll say this, I know that they have asked for some privacy, and so we’re going to respect that. I’ll just leave it there,” Ms Jean-Pierre said in response to a question about Simpson’s death.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments