OJ Simpson made all visitors, including family, sign NDAs in final days before his death
OJ Simpson was infamously acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and waiter Ron Goldman in the so-called ‘trial of the century’ — and spent the rest of his life leaning into his notoriety
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.OJ Simpson is said to have made all visitors, including his family, sign non-disclosure agreements to visit him in the days before his death.
In the 1990s, he became arguably the most infamous man in America after he was charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, a waiter, who were stabbed to death. The trial in 1995 dominated the news for months, sparking contentious debate about fame, domestic abuse and racist treatment of Black Americans by the police. He was ultimately acquitted.
In 1997 Simpson was found liable for the pair’s deaths in a civil proceeding. Simpson was ordered to pay $33.5 million in a judgment, but managed to avoid paying significant damages.
Sources with direct knowledge have told TMZ that somewhere between 30 to 50 people – made up of friends and other family – saw OJ in person at his home in Las Vegas before he died on Wednesday. They are all said to signed the NDAs, and no phones were allowed in the room with Simpson.
Simpson was battling prostate cancer, according to his family.
Now, Malcolm LaVergn, the executor of Simpson’s estate, has vowed to prevent the payout of a $33.5m judgement to the families of Goldman and Brown Simpson, saying that he hopes to ensure that Goldman’s family, in particular, “get nothing”.
Speaking to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Mr LaVergn, who represented Simpson for the last 15 years of his life, said: “It’s my hope that the Goldmans get zero, nothing.
“Them specifically. And I will do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure that they get nothing.”
OJ Simpson dead: Infamous murder suspect and American Football star dies aged 76
Orenthal James “OJ” Simpson has died at 76 years old, his family confirmed in a statement.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” his family wrote. “He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.”
Simpson was a former American football player – often regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time – and actor who became a cultural icon. But he was perhaps most well known for his role in the highly publicised and controversial trial of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.
In what many referred to as “the trial of the century”, Simpson was accused, charged and then acquitted of murdering Brown and Goldman in 1994. His acquittal, by a mostly Black jury, was a seminal moment in US cultural history.
READ MORE:
‘Hospice?’ OJ Simpson insists in February that he was not in hospice care
OJ Simpson denied being in pallative care in a video he posted in February.
Simpson made the video afte news outlets reported that he had been undergoing chemotherapy for prostate cancer.
While the reports did not suggest he was in hospice — merely that he was being treated for cancer — Simpson insisted he was not in hospice and said Donald Trump was right not to trust what the media says.
Simpson died two months later.
OJ Simpson said his health was improving in his final video
OJ Simpson told the world in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
He said he “caught cancer” and “had to do the whole chemo thing” but was confident he had beaten it.
“It looks like I beat it,” Simpson said in a video he posted at the time.
In Simpson’s final video he insisted that his health was alright, despite some complications. That video was posted to X/Twitter on 11 February, two months before he died.
“My health is good. I mean, obviously I’m dealing with some issues but I think I’m just about over it,” Simpson said in the video.
OJ Simpson obituary: The football star and actor turned celebrity murder defendant
OJ Simpson, the American football star and actor who was acquitted in a sensational 1995 trial of murdering his former wife but was found responsible for her death in a civil lawsuit and was later imprisoned for armed robbery and kidnapping, has died at the age of 76.
Simpson, cleared by a Los Angeles jury in what the U.S. media called “the trial of the century,” had died on Wednesday after a battle with cancer, his family posted on social media on Thursday.
Simpson avoided prison when he was found not guilty in the 1994 stabbing deaths of former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. Simpson later served nine years in a Nevada prison after being convicted in 2008 on 12 counts of armed robbery and kidnapping two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel.
Nicknamed “The Juice,” Simpson was one of the best and most popular athletes of the late 1960s and 1970s. He overcame childhood infirmity to become an electrifying running back at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player. After a record-setting career in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
READ MORE:
OJ Simpson obituary: The football star and actor turned celebrity murder defendant
Nicknamed ‘The Juice’ OJ Simpson was one of the best and most popular athletes of the late 1960s
Watch: Infamous OJ Simpson police chase video resurfaces following his death aged 76
OJ Simpson shuts down reports he’s in ‘hospice’ following cancer treatment
This Independent story from February details how OJ Simpson shut down rumours that he was being treated for cancer.
Simpson responded to the rumours by insisting that he was not in “hospice,” though it’s unclear if any report actually claimed that he was.
READ MORE:
OJ Simpson shuts down reports he’s in ‘hospice’ following cancer treatment
Former NFL star confirmed that ‘all is well’
‘I simply don’t care’
One of the lead detectives in the OJ Simpson murder trial, Tom Lange, was reportedly asked by TMZ how he felt after he learned that the former NFL star and muder suspect had died.
He did not have strong feelings about the development.
“I have nothing to say, I simply don’t care,” he told TMZ.
Simpson was ultimately acquitted.
Watch moment OJ Simpson found not guilty of murdering wife Nicole Brown Simpson
Watch moment OJ Simpson found not guilty of murdering wife Nicole Brown Simpson
OJ Simpson was found not guilty of murdering his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson in a 1995 trial verdict watched by around 100 million people worldwide. The American football star and actor was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. He was found responsible for her death in a civil lawsuit and later imprisoned for armed robbery and kidnapping. Footage of the verdict has resurfaced after Simpson's death was announced by his family on Thursday, 11 April. He died on Wednesday after he “succumbed to his battle with cancer surrounded by his children and grandchildren," a statement said.
OJ Simpson was cast as The Terminator before Arnold Schwarzenegger
OJ Simpson nearly became the deadly cyborg assassin of James Cameron’s legendary Terminator franchise, before Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast to lead the series.
The former American football star and infamous murder suspect, who died aged 76 on Wednesday (11 April) from cancer, was revealed to have originally been cast as The Terminator.
“It was actually OJ Simpson that was the first cast Terminator,” Schwarzenegger told The Independent in 2019. “Then somehow [James Cameron] felt that he was not as believable for a killing machine. So then they hired me. That’s really what happened.”
READ MORE:
OJ Simpson was cast as The Terminator before Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger once revealed that the ex-NFL player and infamous murder suspect was originally cast to lead James Cameron’s iconic film franchise
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments