NEWSO.J. Simpson's Cause of Death Revealed
April 26 2024, Published 2:38 p.m. ET
Two weeks after O.J. Simpson died from a short cancer battle, his cause of death has been revealed.
The athlete died from prostate cancer, his attorney Malcolm Lavergne confirmed to TMZ on Friday, April 26.
As OK! previously reported, Simpson died at 76 years old on April 10 after spending several months in hospice.
Simpson's family broke the news via social media.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” the statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, read at the time. “During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”
Prior to his death, rumors swirled Simpson had prostate cancer, but he never confirmed the news.
“Hey X world, hospice? Hospice? You’re talking about hospice?” Simpson said while laughing in a social media video, which he posted in February. “I don’t know who put that out there.”
O.J. Simpson pictured with ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson.
It didn't seem like Simpson was worried about dying, according to LaVergne, who saw him before he died.
"He was awake, alert and chilling," he said on Tuesday, April 16. "He's on the couch ... drinking a beer and watching TV. And so that was the last time we had effective back-and-forth conversations. He's usually the one who keeps me up on the news ... so we were just catching up on the news then."
O.J. Simpson was 'alert' weeks before he died.
Things took a drastic turn, as on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was "transitioning." During LaVergne's last visit with the football star, he only had the strength to ask for water and to watch a golf tournament instead of tennis.
"Of course he chose golf," LaVergne told the Associated Press. "He was an absolute golf fanatic."
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O.J. Simpson died on April 10.
Simpson made headlines for being acquitted in the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman after they had been killed outside Nicole's home in 1994. O.J. was later convicted of leading five men, including two armed individuals, in a 2007 confrontation with two sports collectibles dealers in a Las Vegas casino hotel.
O.J. Simpson died of prostate cancer.
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Though O.J. wasn't always seen in the best light, his family always stuck by his side.
"You have to remember that they've shared O.J. with the world their entire lives," Malcolm said of his children: Arnelle Simpson, 55, Jason Simpson, 53, Sydney Simpson, 38, and Justin Simpson, 35.
"At first they shared good O.J. But still he was famous," Malcolm continued. "And then, in 1994 on, they kind of had to share bad boy O.J. with the world. But at the end of the day, these children just lost a father. And they have the added burden that he is one of the most famous people on the planet, and who is polarizing and who is surrounded by controversy."
