O.J. Simpson, the famed football player who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in a case that became a media sensation and was called the “trial of the century,” has reportedly died.
The 76-year-old former Buffalo Bills star “succumbed to his battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement posted on Simpson’s X account.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” a statement attributed to the Simpson family said.
Known as “The Juice” and born Orenthal James Simpson, the running back’s 1994 trial for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, became the subject of intense public fascination.
Simpson’s not-guilty verdict was watched in 1995 by more than 150 million people – nearly 60 percent of the country.
While Simpson was acquitted in the pair’s slayings, he was later found liable for their deaths as part of a civil suit.
More than a decade after the murder trial, the father of five was sentenced to prison for his role in an armed robbery of sports memorabilia from a Las Vegas hotel room. He was released from a Nevada prison in 2017.
Simpson later became a frequent social media user, often using the platform formerly known as Twitter to weigh in on politics to his more than 800,000 followers.
Last year, Simpson released a video suggesting that then-GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy should “untie” himself from some in the Republican Party.
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