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OJ Simpson, a former United States football star turned Hollywood actor, who was acquitted of murder in a widely broadcasted trial in the 1990s, has died at age 76.
In a statement shared on social media on Thursday morning, Simpson’s family said he died on Wednesday after a battle with illness.
Known by the nickname “The Juice” – Simpson was a star running back at the University of Southern California, before playing 11 seasons of professional American football in the NFL, and eventually transitioning into acting.
His movie credits include the hilariously funny Naked Gun trilogy, where he starred alongside Priscilla Presley and Leslie Neilson.
But OJ Simpson became a controversial figure after he was charged with the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in 1994.
He was eventually acquitted, in a judicial decision that divided the country: Some Americans viewed it as a miscarriage of justice, while others believed he was unfairly targeted by a racist police force who had already lost the trust of black Americans in the years following the LA Riots.
After being found guilty in a civil court and ordered to pay $33m USD to the families of his victims, OJ Simpson was eventually convicted for the attempted armed burglary of his own memorabilia in Las Vegas – he spent 9 years in a Nevada prison.
However, as a man that became a central figure in the 1990s culture wars, who was eventually cleared of committing heinous through the clever work of hot-shot lawyers – OJ Simpson is remembered fondly by Australian conservatives as an anti-woke crusader.
Former Liberal Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard have today joined current Federal Opposition Peter Dutton on a private jet owned by Channel Seven’s billionaire owner, Kerry Stokes, which will fly directly to Los Angeles to the attend the funeral of OJ Simpson.
John Howard is believed to have provided a character reference for OJ Simpson during his trial for armed robbery in Las Vegas.
In an address likely to enrage critics of OJ Simpson’s legacy, Peter Dutton described the late footballer as ‘a towering intellectual figure’
Tony Abbott has taken it one further declaring that as a devout Christian it is no surprise that Simpson became a target for the woke left – describing the 1997 murder trial as a ‘modern-day crucifixion’
