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” Wednesday, his family said in a Thursday statement posted on Simpson’s account on social platform X.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” according to the statement attributed to the Simpson family.
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.
A winner of the prestigious Heisman Trophy as a college football player, Simpson was drafted first overall by the Bills in 1969. He was a five-time pro-bowler, and in 1973 he was declared the NFL’s MVP.
Simpson parlayed his NFL fame into an acting career, appearing in “The Naked Gun” movies and the TV miniseries, “Roots,” among other high-profile projects.
— Updated at 11:52 a.m.