Political Twitter stood in bipartisan outrage over convicted robber/kidnapper and formerly accused murderer O.J. Simpson creating a Twitter account. Simpson’s inaugural post was a video confirming his identity along with the message that he’s got “a little getting even to do.”
Simpson was infamously acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman during the so-called “Trial of the Century” in 1995. Since then, the former professional football player has remained in obscurity, shunned from the world. He was successfully sued for wrongful death by the Goldman family in 1997 and ordered to pay $25 million.
O.J. Simpson’s Twitter debut was received by mixed emotions including anger and disbelief. Some question how Simpson is allowed on social media when certain conservative political commentators are not, while others expressed disgust over Simpson’s blatant monetization of his infamy.
After having been paroled in July 2017, Simpson was released from prison in October 2017 under the cover of darkness. Until now, he’s remained relatively reclusive—something the general public clearly hasn’t had an issue with. O.J. Simpson’s story was recently made into a miniseries for FX where it was highly successful and brought the case to a new generation of viewers.
In response, journalist Yashar Ali launched a Twitter campaign to divert attention to advocate Kim Goldman, sister of the slain Ron Goldman and host of the podcast series Confronting: O.J. Simpson. In the podcast, Goldman interviews individuals involved with the case including lead prosecutor Marcia Clark. Simpson amassed 500,000 followers in just one day on Twitter.
