The View host Alyssa Farah Grifffin has weighed in on the death of OJ Simpson and said that her ‘only thought’ is that his passing ‘gives some peace’ to the families of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Simpson, who died at his home in Las Vegas on Wednesday at the age of 76, was found civilly liable in 1997 for the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole – who was 35 when she was stabbed outside her Los Angeles home – and 25-year-old restaurant waiter Ron.
During Thursday’s episode of The View, Alyssa, 34, did not hold back when it came to discussing OJ’s death and said: ‘To me, when someone like this passes, really my only thought is I hope that it gives some peace to the family of the victims.’
Her co-host Sunny Hostin remarked: ‘For me, the tragedy was the injustice – in my opinion. The criminal trial [and] the fact that he was not found guilty, but he was found liable later, civilly.’
Alyssa Farah Griffin said that she hopes the death of OJ Simpson ‘gives some peace’ to the families of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman
Simpson, pictured here in February 2024, passed away at his Las Vegas home on Wednesday at the age of 76
Simpson was acquitted but later found civilly liable for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Pictured: The couple in New York in 1993
Waiter Ron Goldman, who was 25, was also murdered at the LA property the same night as Nicole Brown
Alyssa added: ‘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 it helps them to find some peace,’ as Sara Haines chimed in and said: ‘I think even saying their names matters to people.’
‘Yeah, Ron Goldman, Nicole Simpson. I mean, you know, these people are terribly missed by their families and I know that to be true,’ Sunny added, after revealing she had become friends with Ron’s sister Kim Goldman.
Referring to Simpson’s 1995 murder trial, Sunny said: ‘Can I just say… who doesn’t remember the trial of the century? I mean, it was an 11-month-long trial, and the bronco and I think it’s one of those questions, “where were you at when OJ was in that bronco?”
‘I remember I was on a date with a guy named Paul,’ Sunny continued. ‘I remember it and I also remember feeling a great sense of injustice happened.
‘It’s one of the reasons I became a prosecutor because I remember watching Chris Darden and I remember watching Marcia Clark, I remember watching the late, great Johnnie Cochran and just the masterful job that I thought everyone did and I ended up becoming close to Kim Goldman.
‘Her brother Ron was killed, along with Nicole Simpson, and I remember how palpable – even to this day – that loss is for them.’
Her co-host Joy Behar then said: ‘I remember because Johnnie Cochran was… how did it go with the glove? “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”… so he brought poetry to the legal system. That was a first, also.’
‘Yeah, he was a master, he was a master,’ Sunny replied as Alyssa confirmed she was five-years-old when Simpson’s murder trial played out and said that her parents ‘had it on wall-to-wall’ as she claimed it ‘consumed so much of our public consciousness’.
The View’s host Whoopi Goldberg announced OJ Simpson’s death at the very beginning of Thursday’s show
Sunny Hostin shared her thoughts and said ‘the tragedy was the injustice’ of Simpson’s criminal trial
OJ Simpson in a mug shot following his arrest in Los Angeles, California, US, 17th June 1994
Simpson (pictured in his 1995 trial) became one of the most infamous figures in America after he was charged with murdering his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron
‘It was really a big deal. I think Court TV may have come into existence because of it,’ mother-of-two Sunny added.
Simpson’s death was announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday morning in a post which read: ‘On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.
‘He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace. -The Simpson Family.’
Simpson, a former football running back who played 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills, reinvented himself as an actor before Brown and Goldman’s murders.
Although cleared of the killings, his reputation was ruined forever and the latter part of his career was marked by a series of seedy ventures.
After being acquitted, Simpson went on to be found civilly liable for the murders and was later forced to pay out $33.5million in damages to the victims’ families.
He faced further legal troubles when he was sentenced to up to 33 years behind bars for armed robbery in Nevada in 2008.
His death comes two months after it was reported that the he was battling prostate cancer and undergoing chemotherapy.
