Here's Why Kim Kardashian Stays Silent About O.J. Simpson Trial

As fans of any of the Kardashians will know, the famous family is very closely connected to O.J. Simpson's murder trial, which took place in the mid-nineties. How so, we hear all you non-fans ask? Well, Robert Kardashian (Rob, Kourtney, Khloe, and Kim's father) was one of O.J.'s closest friends. According to the Los Angeles Times, the men were so close, in fact, that Robert "reactivated his law license" after two decades of dormancy to aid in O.J.'s legal defense, at the behest of his lead counsel, Robert Shapiro. At the same time, Kris Jenner (the matriarch of the Kardashian family) was close friends with Nicole Brown, one of the victims of the aforementioned murder. The other was Brown's friend, Ronald Goldman. And according to Kim, the dual allegiances "tore [her] family apart."

Speaking with David Letterman on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction (via Netflix), Kim explained, "My mom was extremely vocal on her feelings. ... She believed that her friend was murdered by him and that was really traumatizing for her." She continued, "And then we'd go to my dad's house and it was a whole other situation there." As a teen at the time, she also admitted, "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."

Kim also shared that she was just 14 years old when O.J.'s acquittal made headlines, not only with mainstream news but also with the tabloid media. The ensuing frenzy even led to a mishap in which she was errantly identified by Hard Copy as "Robert Kardashian's mistress." Of course, being mistaken for your father's girlfriend would probably be enough to make someone never want to speak to the press again, but that's not the reason Kim stayed silent about O.J.'s trial for so long.  

Today, Kim Kardashian claims she stays silent on the trial out of respect for O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown's children. Speaking on her bestie Jonathan Cheban's podcast, Foodgod: OMFG, Kim said, "I just, you know, his kids are all so amazing, and Nicole's kids, and I'm still somewhat friendly with his children." She explained, "I don't really talk to them, but I did connect with his son, a few years back, and I just have respect for them. And their lives must be extremely hard to really go through that. So, I always try to just keep to myself on that issue and not bring anything up for them, 'cause I know every time someone does, it's super traumatic." Fair enough! 

But that doesn't mean she didn't binge watch FX's The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story mini series like the rest of us. "There were times I was watching it and I was like, 'Oh sh*t, this is dead-on' . . . Like, 'That looks like my dad. It feels like my dad.' It was eerie to watch sometimes," she told Vanity Fair.