The View learned just before going on air this morning that O.J. Simpson had died, and kicked off this morning’s show by reflecting on the Trial of the Century. Simpson, who died at age 76 after battling prostate cancer, became an infamous American figure after he was accused — and eventually acquitted — of murdering his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.
Whoopi Goldberg began today’s episode by filling the studio audience in on the breaking news.
“Just before we went on air today, news broke that O.J. Simpson has passed away at age 76,” she began. “He was battling cancer and he’s passed. We didn’t want you to not know, ’cause we just got it, so we’re passing it on to you.”
Sunny Hostin was the first of the co-hosts to speak, asking, “Who doesn’t remember the Trial of the Century? It was an 11-month-long trial. And the Bronco, and I think it’s one of those questions: Where were you at when O.J. was in that Bronco?”
Hostin, who worked as a federal prosecutor for years before joining The View, continued, “I remember I was at Cafe Fiorello on a date with a guy named Paul. I remember it! And I also remember feeling a great sense of injustice happened. It’s one of the reasons why I became a prosecutor.”
She then added that she eventually became close to Kim Goldman, the sister of Ron. She told her co-hosts, “I remember how palpable, even to this day, that loss is for the family.”
O.J. Simpson, the sports star turned movie star turned accused murder turned convicted felon, has died at the age of 76. From the Decider archives:
When Joy Behar asked Hostin to explain what tragedy she saw in the trial, she replied, “For me, the tragedy was the injustice, in my opinion … the criminal trial. The fact that he was not found guilty.”
When she noted, “But he was found liable later, civilly,” — referring to the 1996 civil trial in which Simpson was found liable for the murders and ordered to pay the Brown and Goldman families $33.5 million — Behar replied, “Like [Donald] Trump is found liable for rape. Same thing!”
Hostin exclaimed, “Everything goes back to Trump!” as Behar added, “Until he’s gone, I will not rest.”
When the conversation steered back to O.J., Alyssa Farah Griffin — the youngest on The View panel — told her co-hosts she “couldn’t believe” the murder accusations began in 1994.
“I was five years old and I remember watching it. My parents had it on wall to wall. It consumed so much of our public consciousness. That and Princess Diana’s death are just ingrained in me,” she said. “To me, when someone like this passes, my only thought is I hope it gives some peace to the family of the victims. They did win the civil suit after the fact, because I agree, I think it was a miscarriage of justice. But that doesn’t make up for it, so I hope that it helps them to find some peace.”
When Sara Haines interjected, “Even saying their names matters to people,” Hostin agreed.
“Ron Goldman, Nicole Simpson,” Hostin said. “These people are terribly missed by their families.”
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.
