O.J. Simpsons Relationship with the Kardashian Family, Explained

Long before his ex-wife Kris Jenner and children Kim, Khloé, Kourtney, and Rob became synonymous with reality TV, Robert Kardashian and his family garnered fame for an entirely different reason: their extensive relationship with O.J. Simpson, who died Wednesday at age 76.

Robert most notably served as one of Simpson’s lawyers during his trial in the double-murder case of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, but the attorney and the former football star had built a longstanding friendship dating back to their college days. They spent so much time together that Kardashian’s kids even considered Simpson an unofficial member of the family.

While there weren’t any actual genetic ties—despite persistent rumors suggesting otherwise—the relationship between Simpson and the Kardashian family was certainly a close one.

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Robert Kardashian and O.J. Simpson met while they were in college

Robert Kardashian first crossed paths with O.J. Simpson around 1967 when he was a “water boy” for the University of Southern California football team. At the time, Simpson was a running back for the Trojans. They later met again while playing tennis at a mutual friend’s house.

The two quickly developed a friendship and also became business partners, including investing in a company called Juice Inc., which opened frozen yogurt shops. The business was originally called Joy and later Forty Carats. They also invested in Concert Cinema, which showed music videos before movies in theaters.

Simpson and Kardashian trusted each other implicitly. Before buying the Rockingham Estate in Los Angeles’ Brentwood neighborhood, Simpson reportedly asked Kardashian for his opinion.

The Kardashian siblings called Simpson “Uncle O.J.”

Soon, the friends brought wives into the mix. Kardashian married San Diego–born Kristen Mary Houghton (later Kris Jenner) in 1978. At the time, Simpson was in the last year of his marriage to Marguerite Whitley and had already started his relationship with his future second wife, Nicole Brown.

“Nicole brought O.J. a lot of happiness—you could see it. She lit up his life,” Kris said, according to Slate. “They were golden together.”

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As they started their families, the Simpsons and Kardashians remained close. Simpson visited the Kardashians in the hospital when their first daughter, Kourtney, was born. The families often vacationed together, and the Kardashian kids referred to the Simpsons as “Auntie Nicole” and “Uncle O.J.”

Kris even believes she was with Brown in New York City when she bought her husband the gloves that would later become crucial evidence in the so-called “Trial of the Century.”

But the good times didn’t last. Both couples went through divorces around the same time: the Kardashians in 1991 and the Simpsons in 1992.

Simpson’s trial put a huge strain on the Kardashian family

Robert Kardashian sits next to O.J. Simpson in court.

The Kardashian name first made national headlines when Robert became one of Simpson’s lawyers while the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee stood trial for the June 12, 1994 murders of Brown and Goldman. But the irony is that Kardashian hadn’t been in a courtroom for two decades and hadn’t even been a lawyer for 15 years. He quickly reactivated his law license and came to the aid of his friend, firmly believing Simpson’s innocence.

However, Kris, who later married Caitlyn Jenner (before her transition), didn’t feel the same way. Daughter Kim shared on Dr. Phil that this created a huge strain in their family: “We really felt in the middle of this trial. We didn’t know which parent to side with.”

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Kris felt like she “failed as a friend” to Brown

In fact, the trial wasn’t the only effect Simpson had on the young Kardashians’ lives. Simpson also threatened his own life in 13-year-old Kim’s bedroom. While the teen wasn’t home at the time, her father stopped Simpson from acting by pleading, “I could never walk in this room. My daughter couldn’t sleep in this bed. She’d know what happened,” as he recalled to Barbara Walters.

Kris, who has since said she felt she “failed as friend” to Brown, supported Brown’s family and was in the courtroom, pregnant with Kendall Jenner at the time, when the not-guilty verdict arrived. She honored her late friend by giving Kendall the middle name of Nicole.

The model confirmed the connection in a Snapchat video: “My middle name is after Nicole Brown Simpson because that was my mom’s best friend. And I’m honored to have this name.”

Simpson denied rumors he was Khloé’s father

Years after his infamous murder trial, Simpson felt compelled to address the persistent gossip he might have been Khloé Kardashian’s father. Starting an account on Twitter, now known as X, in June 2019 with the handle @TheRealOJ32, Simpson shared a video promising to use the social media platform to “set the record straight.”

The Kardashian Sisters

One of the first things he did was emphatically deny the parental relationship rumors. “Bob Kardashian, he was like a brother to me. He was a great guy,” Simpson said in a separate video. “He met and married Kris, and they really had a terrific time together, when they were together. Unfortunately, that ended. But I never—and I want to stress, never in any way, shape, or form—have I ever had any interest in Kris romantically or sexually—and I never got any indication that she had any interest in me.”

After calling all those stories “bogus, bad, and tasteless,” he continued, “Khloé, like all the girls, I am very proud of, just like I know Bob would be if he was here. But the simple fact of the matter is that she is not mine.”

Khloé had already confirmed this by taking a 23andMe DNA test in an October 2018 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, revealing she’s “58 percent European, 41.6 percent Middle Eastern”—meaning Robert Kardashian really is her father. Robert died of cancer in September 2003 and Kourtney and Khloé posted a touching tribute last year to mark the 20th anniversary of his death.

Unintentionally, Simpson followed in his one-time college pal’s footsteps one last time. He shared in May 2023 that he had been receiving treatment after his own cancer diagnosis. The disease took Simpson’s life—like his friend’s before him—on April 10, 2024.

Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.

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