Kim Kardashian Jokingly Asks If Her ‘O.J. Connection’ Can Bail Her Out of Jury Duty
Kim Kardashian is ready to leverage her connection to Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson if it means avoiding jury duty and saving her birthday celebrations!
In a preview for next week’s episode of ‘The Kardashians’, Kim shares with the cameras, “It’s my birthday week and I’ve been summoned for jury duty.” Despite the summons, Kim, 43, is determined to celebrate and begins brainstorming creative ways to get out of her civic obligation.
“I feel like there’s some kind of O.J. connection that could get me out of jury duty,” she jokes, before laughing and adding, “Ha! Just kidding!” Viewers will have to wait until next week’s episode to find out if Kim attends jury duty, but fans know she still celebrated her birthday in October with a star-studded private party at Funke restaurant in Beverly Hills.
Also Read: Kim Kardashian Dispels Feud With Sister Kourtney: “A Huge Misconception”
Her mom Kris Jenner and sisters Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Kendall Jenner were present, along with friends Hailey Bieber, Kimora Lee Simmons, Lauren Sánchez, and Ivanka Trump. (Kourtney Kardashian Barker, pregnant and on bed rest, couldn’t attend.)
O.J. Simpson died on 10th April from cancer. His family announced his death at 76 in a tweet, saying, “On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.”
As fans know, the Kardashian family has a long history with O.J., who was the best friend and best man of Kim’s dad, the late Robert Kardashian Sr., when he married Kris Jenner. Later, Robert Sr. joined O.J.’s legal team during his trial for the murders of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
The former NFL player was acquitted of the charges, though public opinion remained sceptical. According to NPR, he was found liable for the deaths in a civil trial and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victims’ families. Kris previously described the trial as “devastating” for the Kardashian family.
“You have Robert Kardashian on the defence team, and you have me, my girlfriend’s dead,” Kris said on Dr. Phil in 2009. “It was a very difficult situation and what we needed to do was band together as a family and decide that this isn’t going to tear us apart.”
Kim, recalling her childhood during the trial, said she “didn’t know which parent to side with” as the case unfolded. “I remember going to the courthouse with Kourtney and my dad, while my mom sat with Nicole Brown’s family,” she said.
Kris told PEOPLE in 2016, “They were two of the best friends I ever had. O.J. was like my big brother. I mourned the loss of Nicole and O.J. and that relationship.” Kim also discussed how the trial impacted their family dynamics during an October 2020 interview with David Letterman on his Netflix talk show, ‘My Next Guest Needs No Introduction’.
“It was dinner time, and we were all sitting down when I answered the phone. It was a call from jail, and it was O.J. I handed the phone to my mom because he wanted to speak to her,” she said. “I remember them getting into it.”
At around 14 years old during the trial, Kim found it difficult to navigate the conflict between her divorced parents.
“My mom was vocal about her belief that her friend was murdered by him, which was traumatising for her,” she explained. “Then, at my dad’s house, it was a whole different situation. We didn’t know what to believe or whose side to take as kids, because we didn’t want to hurt either parent’s feelings.”
“It tore my family apart for the whole duration of the trial,” she added.
– Farheen Ali
