Nicole Brown Simpson’s sisters have candidly revealed their “happiness” at learning that her ex-spouse and alleged killer OJ Simpson was dead, and her sister Denise has spoken about the relief she felt after learning of the NFL star’s passing.
Controversy and conspiracy theories surrounding the murder of Nicole, 35, in 1994, and speculation about OJ’s alleged role in her murder, have dogged her three sisters for the past three decades.
OJ’s alleged guilt in the murder, even after successfully arguing his innocence in a highly publicized trial, is a matter of pop cultural lore.
Now, in the wake of the former NFL star’s death in April, the sisters (Denise, 66, Dominique, 59, and Tanya, 54) have gone on the Today show to talk about their feelings about it and the fight. to keep his sister’s legacy alive.
“I think everyone knew how I felt about him,” Denise told Today hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.
Nicole Brown Simpson’s three sisters have had to live with the legacy of their sister’s murder in 1994. From left to right are Tanya, 54 years old, Dominique, 59 years old, and Denise, 66 years old.
“I think everyone knew how I felt about him,” Denise (pictured left with her sisters) told Today hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb about her thoughts on orange juice.
“That day I was happy. When I heard the news, I thought, “Oh my God, finally,” she described his reaction to OJ’s death from cancer at age 76.
“But then I realized, ‘Wait a minute, there’s Sydney and Justin,'” Denise continued, referencing OJ and Nicole’s two adult children, Sydney, 38, and Justin, 35.
“I thought, ‘Wow, okay. “I’m happy for me, I don’t have to look over my shoulder anymore,” Denise clarified.
‘I wasn’t afraid of him. He was always there, his presence, they always talked about him in the media, things always happened, but then it was that sadness for the children because now they don’t have a mom or dad.
‘So yeah, it was difficult. “It was hard,” Denise added.
For Dominque, meanwhile, “it was very overwhelming,” he admitted.
‘It was very complicated, very confusing and at the same time very, very sad.
‘I was very excited. We didn’t really know if it was true when we heard the news, then we turned on the TV and it was confirmed that he had really passed away.”
Dominque also acknowledged Sydney and Justin’s new reality, adding, “I was so sad for the kids.”
Both Sydney and Justin were sleeping upstairs in their home when their mother and friend Ronald Goldman were stabbed at the scene on June 12, 1994.
Although he was acquitted at his murder trial in 1995, a civil court found him liable for the two murders and he was ordered to pay $33 million, although it is alleged that he never actually paid the fine.
After marrying in 1985, Nicole and Oj had two children: Sydney, 38, and Justin, 35.
Subsequently, Denise, who testified about OJ’s routine abuse of her sister at his trial, as well as Tanya became domestic violence advocates.
The trio of sisters have been hard at work promoting the upcoming four-part Lifetime documentary, The life and murder of Nicole Brown Simpsonwhose premiere is scheduled for June 1.
Hoda noted that much of the public had not realized the “extent of domestic violence” in the fated relationship between OJ and Nicole.
‘There were many surprises in the documentary. “We thought we knew everything about her and her case, but we really didn’t,” the Today co-host said.
“The extent of domestic violence, from the first date, when she first dated OJ Simpson, through her entire marriage, things that many of you witnessed,” Hoda continued.
Nicole and OJ married in 1985 after the two began dating in 1977. Nicole eventually filed for divorce in 1992, but OJ continued to harass Nicole after their separation.
One part of the documentary that was especially “jarring” for Hoda dates back to when Nicole was pregnant.
As Hoda summarized: “A friend said OJ had told Nicole, ‘I don’t want you to give birth vaginally and I don’t want you to breastfeed.'” Control was evident there. And people didn’t understand the extent of domestic violence. “.
Of the timing of the series, which focuses on who Nicole was as a person beyond her horrific murder, Denise said, “You know, I tried to do it about 10 years ago… and 20 years didn’t seem right to me.”
‘Then we tried for 25 years. And I said, “No, this just doesn’t feel right.” And then I said, “You know what? I think 30 will be about right.”
“And I asked my sisters and I said, ‘Do you want to do this? Do you want to be together? Do you want to humanize Nicole? And let people know, let the world know who Nicole really was.”
“And everyone agreed that this was the right time.”