The New York Times was forced to edit its obituary for OJ Simpson after it provoked reader outrage saying “his world was ruined after he was charged with killing his former wife and her friend.”
Simpson, the former NFL Hall of Fame running back who went on to become a movie star and celebrity pitchman for brand names like Hertz, was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
He died on Wednesday at the age of 76 following a battle with prostate cancer.
In The Times’ obituary for Simpson, the Gray Lady wrote: “He ran to football fame on the field and made fortunes in movies. But his world was ruined after he was charged with killing his former wife and her friend.”
After a backlash from readers online, the wording was changed to: “He ran to football fame and made fortunes in movies. His trial for the murder of his former wife and her friend became an inflection point on race in America.”
The Times obit prompted scathing blowback on social media.
“Leave it to the Times to both sides it,” wrote Darren Haber on X, adding sarcastically: “Critics see a violent sociopath, while others cry foul, seeing a vulnerable man driven to the edge.”
Another X user posted images of Brown Simpson and Goldman, writing: “Jesus. THEIR worlds were ruined.”
The Times also altered another line from the obituary that read, “The infamous case, which held up a cracked mirror to Black and white America, cleared Mr. Simpson but ruined his world.”
That line was changed to: “The jury in the murder trial cleared him, but the case, which had held up a cracked mirror to Black and white America, changed the trajectory of his life.”
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News of the change was reported by Mediaite. The Post has sought comment from The Times.
The Times wasn’t the only national media outlet that fumbled the Simpson obituary.
The Los Angeles Times was mocked nationwide when it confused Simpson with former President Donald Trump.
The LA Times mistakenly wrote that Trump was released on parole after serving nine years in a Nevada state prison in 2017.
“Long before the city woke up on a fall morning in 2017, Trump walked out of Lovelock Correctional Center outside Reno, a free man for the first time in nine years,” the left-leaning paper wrote, somehow mistaking the presidential nominee for the disgraced ex-NFL player.
“He didn’t go far, moving into 5,000-square-foot home in Vegas, with a Bentley in the driveway,” the obituary added.
The LA Times corrected the embarrassing blunder and Trump’s name was replaced with that of Simpson.
In an editor’s note, the LA Times wrote: “An earlier version of this obituary incorrectly contained a typographical error that used the wrong name when describing Simpson leaving Lovelock Correctional Center.”
“The error has been corrected,” it said.
In 2008, Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison for his role in a robbery at gunpoint of a sports memorabilia dealer in a Las Vegas hotel. He was freed on parole after serving nine years behind bars.
Additional Reporting by Yaron Steinbuch