PHOTOS7 of O.J. Simpson's Biggest Scandals: From the 1994 Murder Trial to His 9-Year Jail Sentence
Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman Were Murdered
O.J. Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a civil lawsuit filed by the victims' families.
On June 12, 1994, O.J. Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman were found dead. The autopsy determined Nicole suffered from multiple stab wounds to the neck and scalp and a slit in her throat.
The murders happened when Ronald went to her home following a family dinner at a Los Angeles restaurant where he was working as a waiter. He brought Nicole's mother's glasses to her since she left them behind.
A few hours later, their bodies were found on the property, along with a single glove with blood stains. A second glove was found at the scene afterward.
O.J. was not in the area then, but reports said he took a red-eye flight to Chicago for a celebrity golf tournament.
According to CBS News, a flight attendant on American Airlines flight 390, where he boarded, saw the athlete keeping his hand inside a duffel bag "as if he was concealing something."
O.J. Simpson's Notorious Car Chase Happened After the Murders
O.J. Simpson's attorneys said he got a cut on his hand when he broke a glass after learning about his ex-wife's death.
O.J. was ordered to return to Los Angeles for questioning after Nicole and Ronald's deaths. Instead of doing so, he was spotted in a Bronco with Al Cowlings that traveled through Southern California on the interstate.
According to Cowlings, he drove the vehicle and told the police "to back off" as O.J. was "still alive, but he's got a gun to his head."
"It was already the most televised police pursuit in history, but now it's so bizarre with people coming out," Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Pool told NBC News in 2014. "There were people interfering with our pursuit. At one point, when we got into L.A., it was as though a concert had let out on the freeway. People were partying. I thought, if this was a movie, people would say that was a pretty good movie until that stupid car chase!"
The vehicle soon arrived at O.J.'s home, and The Naked Gun star eventually surrendered to the authorities.
The Police Arrested Him Over an Armed Robbery
O.J. Simpson received assistance from his associates to perform the robbery.
O.J. had another run-in with the law when he tried to reclaim his alleged sports memorabilia during an armed robbery at a casino resort hotel. He alleged it was only a confrontation to get his things back, but police treated it as a crime.
He was booked on conspiracy to commit burglary, burglary with a firearm and two counts each of robbery with a deadly weapon and assault with a deadly weapon.
He was released from prison in 2017 after serving about nine years of a 33-year sentence.
O.J. Simpson Raised Eyebrows With His Rap Song
O.J. Simpson starred in his short-lived prank show, 'Juiced.'
After O.J. was sentenced for armed robbery and kidnapping, he released his controversial track, "Get Juiced," in which he sang about being OK.
"Don't you know there's no stopping the Juice/When I'm on the floor, I'm like a lion on the loose/Better shoot me with a tranquilizer dart/Don't be stupid, I'm not a Simpson named Bart," he sang.
The song's music video was also filled with NSFW scenes featuring topless women.
He Gave Hypothetical Confessions Years After the Murders
O.J. Simpson never admitted to killing his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman.
While O.J. never confirmed his connection to the murders, he offered hypothetical confessions that made the public think he was indeed the killer.
In a 2006 interview on Fox News for a two-hour special, O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?, Simpson delivered a hair-raising hypothetical statement related to the murders.
"In the book the hypothetical is Charlie came by and mentioned something about what was going on at her house," he said. "At that time, I think Charlie had followed this guy in, to make sure there was no problem, and he brought in the knife."
O.J. continued, "I took the knife from Charlie, and to be honest, after that, I don't remember, except I'm standing there and there's all kinda stuff around. Blood and stuff. It's hard for me to describe it."
He offered a similar account in his and Pablo Fenjves' book If I Did It, claiming he saw his ex and Ronald covered in blood without knowing what happened and who did it.
He Sparked Controversy for Joking About 9/11
O.J. Simpson commented on the somber anniversary of the tragedy.
In September 2023, O.J. joked about the 9/11 tragedy as he spoke about Aaron Rodgers' injury.
"The Jets are still gonna be good," Simpson said on "It Is What It Is" podcast. "They got that defense — and that kid learned a lot from Aaron. Unfortunately, 9/11 is just a bad date for New York."
He immediately faced backlash over the controversial statement, with the public calling him out for being "tasteless" and "disrespectful."
O.J. Simpson Referenced the 1994 Murders in His Joke
O.J. Simpson memes flooded social media hours after his death.
Months before his death, Simpson reappeared on the podcast, where he made another eyebrow-raising joke. He referenced the 1994 murders after he was asked regarding Shaquille O'Neal's recent statement about women.
"When you say 'open up to women,' I don't know what he's talking about," he said. "Is he talking about confessing? No man, don't confess. I think he's right. Don't say nothing … leave me out of the confession Y'all gotta leave me out of this one."
