O.J. Simpson's Relationship With The Kardashian And Jenner Family Explained
The surprising death of O.J. Simpson has sparked quite a few questions about the life of this football star, celebrity, and ever-controversial figure. One thing that has always been of interest to the public is his relationship with the Kardashian-Jenner family. In reality, the connections between these stars are complex and span decades, and thus, a deep dive is in order.
Most people know of the Kardashian-Simpson link because Kris Jenner's late husband and Kardashian patriarch, Robert Kardashian Sr., famously represented O.J. in his culturally historic double-murder trial in 1995. In reality, though, their family's connection to O.J. started before this pair teamed up in court, and the fallout lasted long after.
In the early aughts, the Kardashians transformed from the family of a well-known lawyer to reality TV royalty, and they've been famous ever since. However, it was really their connection with O.J. that first shot them into the public eye. Now, his death is bringing many questions about this connection to light.
Inside Kris Jenner's friendship with the Simpsons
The connection between the Kardashian-Jenner family and O.J. Simpson starts with Robert Kardashian Sr.'s friendship with the former athlete. O.J. was a star college football player at the University of South Carolina. While at school there, he met Robert, and the pair became close friends. In 1978, Robert tied the knot with Kris Jenner. In 1985, O.J. married his second wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and the two couples became very close. When Robert and Kris ultimately had children, they even reportedly referred to O.J. and Nicole as their aunt and uncle.
In a 2016 interview with People, Kris recalled that O.J. and Nicole "were two of the best friends I ever had in my entire life. They were my family. O.J. was like my big brother ... I have these vivid memories of an amazing friendship and a life that we all had together."
Ultimately, while O.J. and Robert's friendship prompted the foursome to become so close, Kris' friendship with Nicole grew strong. Kris explained that Nicole had a great sense of humor. "She was beautiful and loyal and passionate and the best mom I had ever met," Jenner added. Of course, when Nicole died suddenly and tragically in 1994 and O.J. quickly became the prime suspect, this dynamic was destroyed. It wasn't just the two couples' friendships that were altered; it also caused friction between Robert and Kris.
Robert Kardashian made history defending O.J.
In 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were killed, and O.J. Simpson was put on trial for their murders the following year. By this time, Robert Kardashian and Kris Jenner were no longer together; they divorced in 1991, and that same year, Kris married Olympian Caitlyn Jenner.
While Robert and Kris were no longer married, they were still on good terms, but Robert's involvement with the trial caused difficulty for the exes. Robert was a high-powered attorney, so it was only natural that O.J. chose him to act on his defense team. However, Kris was so supportive of her late friend that she sat on Nicole's side of the room in court, making it clear that she and Robert were not in agreement on this difficult matter.
According to People, Kris participated in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw in 2009 and recalled, "Right before the trial started, Robert sat down and wrote us a handwritten letter and just said, 'Look, I know you don't agree with what is going down here, but this is what I have to do for my friend.' He believed in what he was doing and he was asking us for his support." O.J. won the case in a shocking and historic verdict thanks to Robert. Robert ultimately contracted esophageal cancer and died in 2003.
Affair rumors ran wild
Kris Jenner and Robert Kardashian's disagreement about how to handle the tragedy that struck their closest friends wasn't easy on Kris. However, what followed made things even harder. Assumptions about Kris' relationship with O.J. Simpson began to swirl. Per People, in 2016, she broke down in tears on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." She explained, "They printed a story that I was sleeping with O.J.," adding, "That f***ing piece of s***. It's really kind of pathetic that when rumors get started the media gives it life and breath and on the anniversary of Nicole's death. It's so tasteless and disgusting."
Unfortunately, the gossip persisted, and folks began to suggest that O.J. was the biological father of Robert and Kris' daughter, Khloé Kardashian. O.J., himself, even posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, "Bob Kardashian, he was like a brother to me." He went on to say that "never... have I ever had any interest in Kris, romantically or sexually, and I never got any indication that she had any interest in me." He added that "all of these stories are bogus, bad, tasteless." and that "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 [sic] of the matter is she is not mine." Despite these assertions, Khloe's name trended on X in the days following O.J.'s death, proving that the rumors are still alive and well.
Kris Jenner paid tribute to her friend with her daughter's middle name
After Nicole Brown Simpson's murder, Kris Jenner decided to pay tribute to her friend through her daughter's name. Kendall Jenner, the daughter of Kris and Caitlyn Jenner, was born on November 3, 1995, just a month after a jury found O.J. Simpson not guilty of the murders of Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
In 2016, Kendall shared that her middle name, Nicole, was a tribute to her mother's friend. "My middle name is after Nicole Brown Simpson because that was my mom's best friend," Kendall said on Snapchat (via Page Six). "And I'm honored to have this name."
While Kendall's older siblings were old enough to follow what was going on during O.J.'s 1995 murder trial, they didn't understand what a not-guilty verdict indicated. In an interview on "Dr. Phil" (via Page Six,) Caitlyn Jenner recalled explaining that a not-guilty verdict may only mean there wasn't enough evidence to convict O.J., not necessarily that he didn't do it.
"I remember the day the verdict came through, and [Kourtney, Kim, and Khloé] came in, and they said, 'I told you he didn't do it,'" Caitlyn said on the talk show, adding she told the kids to not bring up O.J. ever again in her presence.
What the family has said about the trial
Over the years, Caitlyn Jenner has spoken openly about the tragedy. She wrote, "I believe [O.J. Simpson] got away with two savage murders," in her 2017 memoir "Secrets of My Life," per People. She also made headlines with a post on X on the day of O.J.'s death that read, "Good Riddance #OJSimpson."
Caitlyn's ex-wife, Kris Jenner, also hasn't been shy about discussing her best friend's death. In an interview with People, she said, "I saw all the pictures and the police reports and I heard tapes of Nicole calling 911 [after she was abused by O.J.]," adding, "That was stuff I didn't know anything about. I beat myself up because I felt like I wasn't paying attention. Like, how did I miss this?" She said that the tragedy "could have been prevented," and explained that her "heart breaks because of all the pain and suffering she went through."
Unlike their mom, the Kardashian-Jenner daughters haven't said much on the topic. Yet, on an episode of "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction," Kim Kardashian did speak out about how it affected the family. "My mom was extremely vocal on her feelings — she believed that her friend was murdered by [O.J.] and that was really traumatizing for her. And then we'd go to my dad's house and it was a whole other situation there," she said. "It tore my family apart, I'd say, for the whole time of the trial."