The New York Times sparked a public backlash after writing in its obituary that O.J. Simpson had been charged with a double murder and had “ruined” the world.
On Thursday, Simpson’s family announced that the former actor and NFL legend had died at the age of 76 after a battle with prostate cancer. He is best known for gruesomely murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, before being acquitted of double murder charges.
But the Times’ framing of the murder case raised eyebrows.
“He achieved soccer fame on the field and made a fortune in the movies. But his world was ruined when he was charged with murdering his ex-wife and her friend,” the Times article said. Said in a screenshot of a breaking news email alert. By Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project.
This May 3, 1995 file photo shows murder defendant O.J. Simpson (right) with his friend Robert Kardashian (center) and Kardashian’s attorney Alvin Michelson during a hearing in Los Angeles. (Left) He is pictured having a consultation with Mr. (Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images)
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The Times used similar language in the body of its obituary, which originally read:, “This infamous case held up a cracked mirror in black-and-white America, and while Mr. Simpson was acquitted, his world was ruined.”
Many believe that O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson. (Vinny Zufante/Getty Images)
Gray Lady faced heavy criticism on social media.
MSNBC host Katie Pang responded to Madrid’s screenshot by saying, “Well, try harder.”
“It’s unbelievable that @nytimes allowed this to be printed,” wrote prominent lawyer Mark Zaid.
“NPR. NYTIMES. What an amazing thing is happening,” exclaimed writer Brooke Hameling, referring to the NPR article. viral post It simply said, “Football great Orenthal James Simpson, known as O.J., has passed away.”
Liberal substacker Tom Watson said: “It’s just nonsense. It’s murder on both sides. The NYT is broken.”
In response to the backlash, the Times removed the phrase “ruined” from its obituary.
“Although the jury in his murder trial acquitted him, the case held a cracked mirror in the eyes of America, black and white, and changed the trajectory of his life,” the obituary said.
The Times did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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O.J. Simpson holds up his hands in front of the jury after donning new gloves that resemble his infamous bloody gloves during his double murder trial in Los Angeles on June 21, 1995. (Pool photo, file via Vince Bucci/AP) (Vince Bucci/Pool/Associated Press)
The Times wasn’t the only one forced to edit Simpson’s obituary. The Los Angeles Times went viral after readers noticed that it mistakenly referred to former President Trump instead of Simpson when summarizing Simpson’s life.
“On a fall morning in 2017, long before the city woke up, Mr. Trump walked out of the Lovelock Correctional Center outside Reno, free for the first time in nine years,” his obituary originally read.
The LA Times later corrected this error and said, “An earlier version of this obituary contained a typographical error that used the wrong name when describing Simpson’s departure from Lovelock Correctional Center. Error. “has been corrected,” the statement said.
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Simpson was found responsible for the deaths of Brown and Goldman in a 1997 civil trial and ordered to pay $33.5 million to their families.
