O.J. Simpson dies at 76 after battle with cancer
The family of O.J. Simpson announced he has succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was 76.
A piece of O.J. Simpson memorabilia with ties to the Kardashian family has gone to the highest bidder.
Simpson’s 1994 copy of “The Living Bible,” gifted to him by friend and attorney Robert Kardashian amid the NFL veteran’s legal woes, has been sold in an online auction, according to the official Goldin website. The sale comes after Kardashian’s daughter, reality-TV star and media mogul Kim Kardashian, reportedly attempted to purchase the book ahead of the auction.
The bible was sold for $80,276 with an associated buyer’s premium fee (the winning bid was $65,800). The book’s sale was finalized on Saturday, with Goldin noting the auction ended on March 29. The buyer’s name was not disclosed.
USA TODAY has reached out to Kim Kardashian’s representative for comment.
O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted of murder in the 1994 death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, was close friends with Robert Kardashian. Nicole Brown Simpson was also the best friend of Kim Kardashian’s mother Kris Jenner, who was married to Robert Kardashian from 1978 to 1991.
O.J. Simpson was accused of two counts of murder in Brown Simpson’s death after she was fatally stabbed in Los Angeles alongside friend Ron Goldman. Robert Kardashian was a member of Simpson’s defense team.
Despite O.J. Simpson’s acquittal of criminal charges, a jury in a civil trial found him liable for the double murder in 1997. He later served nine years in prison for his role in a botched armed robbery and was granted parole in 2017.
The bible contains an inscription from Robert Kardashian himself, dated June 18, 1994 (the day after O.J. Simpson received charges): “O.J., This book will help. God loves, and he will speak to you with his words. Read this book every day. God has a definite plan for your life. You are his child, and he will use you again. I love you, and God loves you.”
Robert Kardashian died from esophageal cancer at 59 in 2003. O.J. Simpson died April 10, 2024, at the age of 76 following a battle with prostate cancer.
Why was Kim Kardashian denied purchase of O.J. Simpson’s bible?
Before O.J. Simpson’s bible was sold on Saturday, Kim Kardashian raised her bidding sign.
In an interview with People magazine earlier this month, the executor of O.J. Simpson’s estate revealed Kim Kardashian offered to buy the former athlete’s bible for $15,000. But the amount of Kim Kardashian’s offer and the item’s court-sanctioned contract to be auctioned off reportedly thwarted the sale.
“Why would I spend $15,000 of estate money — why would I spend $15,000 in attorney’s fees — to sell it to Kim for $15,000?”, Malcolm LaVergne told People. “That’s a zero-sum game. That’s a bad business model. If Kim had offered $150,000 for it, we would’ve been in court getting this approved outside of the auction.”
LaVergne added that Kim Kardashian maintained the ability to participate in the book’s auction online.
In a moment of rare candor, Kim Kardashian opened up about her relationship with O.J. Simpson during a September 2019 appearance on Jonathan Cheban’s podcast “Foodgod: OMFG.” The Skims co-founder recalled running into O.J. Simpson at a Miami nightclub with sisters Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian.
“We all, I think, all started crying, and it was emotional, I think,” Kim said at the time. She added that she refrains from speaking about O.J. Simpson in the media out of sensitivity to his children.
“I don’t really talk to them, but I did connect with his son, a few years back, and I just have respect for them. And their lives must be extremely hard to really go through that,” Kim Kardashian explained. “So, I always try to just keep to myself on that issue and not bring anything up for them, ’cause I know every time someone does, it’s super traumatic.”
Contributing: Jay Stahl, Erin Jensen, and Josh Peter, USA TODAY
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