The O.J. Simpson tv miniseries reveals extent of Kardeshian family entanglement in the O. J. saga.

"People ask me that all the time and I just really try and block it out," Kim said. "I don't think I've ever answered it. It's not that I don't care, it's just that I think that was the biggest struggle within our family, besides the divorce between my parents. It's the biggest separation that my family's had, so why even ... bring it up? Everyone has their opinion and we respect everyone's opinion."  - Kim

Photo:  Rick Diamond/Getty Images
As The Washington Post's Kent Babb wrote in 2014, the Simpson saga, which captivated 95 million viewers for the high-profile chase on the Los Angeles freeway, was a precursor to "a never-ending stream of reality television shows and many Americans' unquenchable thirst for celebrity gossip" -- the very type of fame epitomized by the Kardashian family today.
The series prominently features "Friends" alum David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, an attorney and longtime friend of Simpson, who assisted the former athlete's so-called legal "dream team" as Simpson stood accused of of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Kardashian died in 2003, years before his ex-wife Kris Jenner (portrayed in the series by Selma Blair) and his children became household names through "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."
The Kardashian kids make appearances in "The People v. O.J. Simpson" as well, though their total screen time amounts to a handful of scenes. variously described by the Post's Hank Stuever as: " moments almost too delicious in irony and resonance."
In a 2009 appearance on "Dr. Phil," Kim Kardashian said she and her siblings knew the Simpsons as "Uncle O.J." and "Aunt Nicole." A 2008 Los Angeles Times article quotes Simpson as calling her "My goddaughter" and saying, "I was in the hospital when she was born." In the series, Kim references Simpson, saying "I mean, he is my godfather."

O.J. Simpson enacting the famous '"If the gloves don't fit" scene


 Photo: AP / Dan Powers, Vince Bucci

Kim, who was 14 when the Simpson trial started in 1994, told Dr. Phil that the Simpson case divided her family.
"We felt like we were really in the middle of this trial," she said. "We didn't know which parent to side with. The trial was on every single day and I remember one time going to the courthouse and Kourtney and I went with my dad, and my mom's sitting across with Nicole Brown's family. We thought our mom was mad at us for ... sitting with our dad."




In a 2012 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Kris, who met with Schwimmer to help him prepare for his role, discussed her ex-husband's decision to support Simpson during the trial. "Were you angry with him for defending O.J.  or being on the defense team?" Winfrey asked.
"I wasn't angry," Kris said. "I was disappointed and I was confused. I didn't understand how he didn't see what I saw".
Credit: Baltimore Sun