What The Kardashian Kids Have Said About Their Father Defending O.J. Simpson
O.J. Simpson died on April 10, 2024, leaving behind an ongoing conversation about the death of his second wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. The former football star was acquitted of Nicole and Goldman's murders, but the tragic events stayed with O.J. throughout his life. O.J. died of cancer at age 76 in his home in Las Vegas, and his body language in videos before his death raised red flags about the severity of his health issues. Frequently active on social media, O.J.'s last posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, are particularly haunting.
The Kardashians have long carried with them their family's link to O.J. Simpson. Attorney Robert Kardashian, who died of cancer in September 2003, was a friend of O.J.'s and represented him in his 1995 trial. Meanwhile, Kris Jenner was close with both O.J. and Nicole, and sided strongly with Nicole's family after her murder.
Kris and Robert had divorced in 1991, but they went on to coparent their four children: Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian. The notable connection between the Kardashians and O.J. has been a talking point for decades, and the Kardashian kids have spoken up about their father's defense of O.J. many times over the years.
Kim Kardashian told David Letterman that the trial was hard on their family
When Kim Kardashian sat down with David Letterman for the Netflix series "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction," she spoke about her father's decision to defend O.J. Simpson and how that impacted their family. Her mother, Kris Jenner, who was close friends with Nicole Brown Simpson, was convinced O.J. was guilty. "My mom was extremely vocal on her feelings — she believed that her friend was murdered by him and that was really traumatizing for her," Kim told Letterman. "And then we'd go to my dad's house and it was a whole other situation there." With so much family division about the murder trial, Kim said that it created confusion for them as kids. For her part, Kim was 13 and 14 when O.J.'s trial was going on. "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 went on.
Kim even recalled a moment when Robert Kardashian pulled her and Kourtney Kardashian out of school to attend the trial, unbeknownst to Kris. "I remember my mom was sitting with Nicole's parents, and Kourtney and I were sitting behind O.J., and we look over at my mom and she's giving us this death stare — like, 'What are you doing out of school? What are you doing here?!'" Kim said, adding, "It tore my family apart, I'd say, for the whole time of the trial."
Nicole Brown Simpson's sister felt that Kim Kardashian's SNL joke was in 'poor taste'
Kim Kardashian made reference to Robert Kardashian's relationship with O.J. Simpson when she hosted "Saturday Night Live" in October 2021. In an attempt to remain loyal to her father, Kim refrained from making a judgment in regards to O.J.'s guilt or innocence. In her opening monologue, Kim said, "It's because of [my father] that I met my first Black person. Want to take a stab in the dark at who it was? I know it's sort of weird to remember the first Black person you met, but O.J. does leave a mark or several, or none at all. I still don't know."
While Kim's SNL appearance was a success, Nicole Brown Simpson's sister, Tanya Brown, told TMZ that she didn't find the jokes funny at all. In fact, she said that they were in "poor taste" and she was upset that Kim spoke about her sister's death in a trivial way.
Khloe Kardashian said she watched the trial at school
Since Khloé Kardashian is younger than Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, it makes sense that her memory isn't as clear around Robert Kardashian's involvement in the O.J. Simpson trial. As she explained to James Corden on "The Late Late Show," there were even a few scenes in "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" that made her second-guess her memories from that time. Turns out, she was right to question the scene where the kids chanted their last name while they watched their dad read a note written by Simpson on the news. After Khloé watched the episode, she reached out to Kim to ask if the scene was based on a real moment from their lives. Kim assured Khloé that they did not actually chant like that.
Khloé also remembered watching the trial during school hours. "I was 10 and the teachers would close down the classroom and we would all be watching [the trial] on TV," Khloé told Corden. She went on to describe the backlash that her father received for representing Simpson. "People were really cruel during that time," she went on. "They used to key 'guilty' on my dad's car when we were in church. It was horrible."
Kim Kardashian said that she and Kourtney Kardashian sided with their father
Kim and Kourtney Kardashian were still young teenagers when Robert Kardashian defended O.J. Simpson, and at the time, the pair of sisters were typically quick to go along with whatever their dad said. As Kim said on a 2009 episode of "The Howard Stern Show, "Kourtney and I just believed everything that my dad would do. We were such daddy's girls because we felt like my mom had remarried so fast and it kind of broke my dad's heart, and she moved on so we just sided with my dad no matter what." Kim added that at the time, Robert evidently genuinely believed in O.J. and couldn't wrap his head around the idea of his best friend murdering Nicole Brown Simpson.
While speaking with Rolling Stone in 2015, Kim reiterated her loyalty to her dad. "I definitely took my dad's side," Kim said. "We just always thought my dad was the smartest person in the world, and he really believed in his friend."
Khloe Kardashian said the family was very 'divided'
Things weren't easy for the Kardashian kids during O.J. Simpson's trial. On the aforementioned episode of "The Howard Stern Show," Khloé Kardashian reflected on how she and her siblings ended up in the thick of all the drama. For example, when cops chased O.J.'s white Bronco down a Los Angeles freeway for hours, the Kardashian family played a small part in this surreal piece of true crime history. "The Bronco chase happened from my dad's house," she said. "We were very much in the heart of it all."
Kourtney and Kim Kardashian's younger sister also remembered feeling caught in the middle of their parents' strife. While Robert Kardashian remained loyal to O.J., Kris Jenner continued to believe he was guilty. "It was very divided," Khloé said. She went on to add, "I know for us as kids, it was very hard. For me personally, I felt like if I was at my mom's, I couldn't really talk about my dad. If I was at my dad's, I couldn't talk about my mom. After the O.J. trial was done, they became best friends." Evidently, once the trial was over and O.J. was acquitted, Jenner and Robert got back to coparenting peacefully.