Alert – OJ Simpson’s shock tribute at BET Awards 2024 SLAMMED by Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman’s families – two months after double-murder suspect died from cancer aged 76

OJ Simpson’s shock tribute at the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday has been slammed by the families of murder victims Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

Simpson – who became one of the most infamous figures in America after he was charged with the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Brown and her friend  Goldman – and later acquitted in the trial of the century – appeared on screen as part of the show’s In Memoriam segment. 

Two months after Simpson died aged 76 from prostate cancer, Simpson – alongside stars including Louis Gossett Jr.and civil rights activist Dexter Scott King – was honored as a ‘Former NFL player’ – with a smattering of applause heard as his picture was flashed up.

However the decision to honor the convicted felon – who also spent nine years in a Nevada jail in 2008 after he was convicted on 12 counts of armed robbery and kidnapping – was slammed by the families of Brown and Goldman and left viewers  ‘disgusted’ and outraged.

Ron’s father Fred Goldman told TMZ:  ‘I think they shouldn’t include anyone of that caliber – a wife beater, murderer … can’t imagine why they would include someone like that.’

OJ Simpson ‘s shock tribute at the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday has been slammed by the families of murder victims Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman – Simpson pictured 2008

Simpson – who became one of the most infamous figures in America after he was charged with the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Brown and her friend Goldman – and later acquitted in the trial of the century – appeared on screen as part of the show’s In Memoriam segment

Nicole’s sister Tanya added: ‘It’s inappropriate to give an abuser and murderer recognition.

‘Whoever thought of doing that owes every domestic violence victim an apology…and that’s including our family. And, they should be fired.’

One fan wrote: ‘putting oj Simpson in the memorial is absolutely disgusting’ while another penned: ‘BET y’all have really lost y’all mind including Oj Simpson in the memorandum.’

Others wrote: ‘Muting Usher’s speech but adding OJ Simpson to the “In Memoriam” is crazy’, ‘BET Awards is so irrelevant that they had to put that killer OJ Simpson in the memoriam so they can get attention on all the shows tomorrow. Tragic.’

Another fan wrote: ‘Ngl.. I nearly changed the channel once OJ Simpson popped up on the screen during that in memoriam at the Bet Awards 2024. Like no…. He should have been excluded.

‘including oj simpson in your in memoriam tribute but not andre braugher is nuts bet.’

Simpson was later found civilly liable for the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman 

Despite a successful NFL career, Simpson was best known for his acquittal following his high-profile murder trial in 1995, dubbed the ‘Trial of the Century’.

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

Brown was found brutally stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles home along with friend Ron Goldman, who was also killed

Viewers were left ‘disgusted’ and outraged by the segment

He was charged with the deaths of Brown and Goldman, who were found brutally stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles home. 

The circumstances around his arrest were equally salacious, with the former NFL star leading cops on a low speed chase after learning of the impending charges.

Millions tuned in to watch the 90 minute pursuit of Simpson’s white Ford Bronco  across southern California.

The athlete crouched in the back with a handgun while friend Al Cowlings drove, before his eventual arrest in Brentwood.

At trial, prosecutors argued Simpson was linked to the crime scene through forensic evidence.

A now-infamous moment saw Simpson struggling to try on a pair of black gloves believed to have been worn by the murderer. One glove was found at the scene, the other near to Simpson’s mansion.

Prosecutors said the accused killer acted out of jealousy over his then ex-wife.

‘He killed Nicole for a single reason,’ Christopher Darden told the court. ‘He killed her because he couldn’t have her, and if he couldn’t have her, he didn’t want anyone else to.’ Despite the evidence, Simpson was acquitted.

Fred Goldman (C), father of Ronald Goldman, his daughter Kim (L) and wife Patty  are pictured at the trial in 1994 – Fred said: I think they shouldn’t include anyone of that caliber – a wife beater, murderer … can’t imagine why they would include someone like that’

Commentators agree that the defense in part aided, by longtime friend Robert Kardashian, relied heavily on anger around racial bias historically shown by the LAPD and argued that evidence had been mishandled.

A decade later, still shadowed by the California wrongful death judgment, Simpson ended up back in court charged with armed robbery. 

Imprisoned at age 61, he served nine years in a remote northern Nevada prison, including a stint as a gym janitor. He was not contrite when he was released on parole in October 2017. 

The parole board heard him insist yet again that he was only trying to retrieve sports memorabilia and family heirlooms stolen from him after his criminal trial in Los Angeles.

‘I’ve basically spent a conflict-free life, you know,’ Simpson, whose parole ended in late 2021, said.

Public fascination with Simpson never faded. In 2019, on the 25th anniversary of the murder, Simpson launched a Twitter account.

He quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of followers and soon made something of a name for himself as a presence on the app, often posting short videos of himself, in which he offered his opinions and commentary on a range of subjects.

His sports and film stardom would go on to be overshadowed by his arrest for the murder of Brown and Goldman. Pictured: Simpson in Superior Court in Los Angeles in December 1994

The father-of-six at a premiere with then-wife Nicole Brown and their children Sydney and Justin

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 Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994

Many have debated if he had been punished in Las Vegas for his acquittal in Los Angeles. 

In 2016, he was the subject of both an FX miniseries and five-part ESPN documentary.

‘I don’t think most of America believes I did it,’ Simpson told The New York Times in 1995, a week after a jury determined he did not kill Brown and Goldman. ‘I’ve gotten thousands of letters and telegrams from people supporting me.’

Twelve years later, following public outrage, Rupert Murdoch cancelled a planned book by the News Corp-owned HarperCollins in which Simpson offered his hypothetical account of the killings. It was to be titled, ‘If I Did It.’

The book was one of several way Simpson attempted to cash in on the controversy of his trial.

Simpson is survived by his children Arnelle and Jason Simpson from marriage to first wife Marguerite Whitley, as well as Sydney and Justin Simpson from his marriage to Brown.

Whitley and Simpson also had another daughter, Aaren, who tragically drowned in the family’s pool at the age of two. The couple split in 1979, the same year as Aaren’s death.

Simpson and Brown tied the knot in 1985, but their marriage was turbulent due to Simpson’s extreme rages and allegations of domestic violence.

In 1989, Brown called police in a panic claiming Simpson was threatening to kill her. When cops arrived they noted she was covered in bruises and had a split lip.

Simpson eventually pleaded no contest to spousal battery.