12. O.J. And The Birth Of The Kardashians
After the divorce in 1991, the children were shuttled back and forth between Kris and Robert. O.J. Simpson, a big movie star at the time, and Robert continue to be friends. O.J. is “uncle O.J.” to the kids. Then in 1994 came the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. O.J. was arrested and tried in 1995. Dad thinks he is innocent. Mom, a friend of Nicole’s, thinks he guilty as sin. And the kids are torn as to which parent to support. Tellingly, Robert seems to get more backing from the kids than Kris. But what happened over the course of 1995 was the transformation of Robert Kardashian from an unknown lawyer and businessman to a TV celebrity. The trial was a sensation and was televised almost non-stop. Robert probably got more air time on TV than many TV stars. And perhaps the impact of this was exaggerated in 2016’s The People v. O.J. Simpson, when Robert lectures his children on the dangers of fame, but three years later when Robert marries rich widow Jan Ashley, we start getting an outsider’s view of the Kardashian clan. And it’s not a pretty one. Robert has no money, but acts like a celebrity. Ditto for his demanding ex-wife and kids, one of whom she calls a “b*tch” and another an “out of control wild child”. More on that later.
Discussion about this post