OJ Simpson was honoured on the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday (30 June), leaving the in any other case upbeat celebration in awkward silence.
The present came about on the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, and was hosted by Oscar-nominated Empire star, Taraji P Henson, marking her third time presenting the occasion.
Arrange in 2001 by the Black Leisure Tv community, the awards present seeks to rejoice Black entertainers and different minorities in music, movie, sports activities, and philanthropy.
Throughout the present, an “In Memoriam” section was aired that includes Night time on the Museum actor Invoice Cobbs, Rocky actor Carl Weathers, Main League Baseball participant Willie Mays, and music government Clarence Avant.
Different luminaries to be featured within the section included 2 Dwell Crew rapper Brother Marquis, faucet dancer Maurice Hines, civil rights activist Dexter Scott King, and Shaft star Richard Roundtree. This Is Us actor Ron Cephas Jones, musician Rudolph Isley, Iron Eagle star Louis Gossett Jr, and Irish Grinstead of the group 702 had been additionally honoured.
The viewers had been applauding alongside to pictures of the celebs as they appeared, however a notable silence fell over the gang as an image captioned with “Former NFL Participant” appeared on the display screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Applause slowly picked up thereafter.
The soccer star, who memorably appeared within the Bare Gun movies, was infamous for being acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her buddy. He died in April this yr, aged 76.
Simpson, who was battling prostate most cancers, was surrounded by his kids and grandchildren, according to a family statement released on social media.
Typically thought to be one of many biggest working backs of all time, Simpson discovered his soccer and appearing profession overshadowed by the media circus of his 1995 “trial of the century” for the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.
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His acquittal, by a largely Black jury, grew to become a seminal second in US cultural historical past. It got here simply three years after the Los Angeles Police Division officers had been acquitted for beating Rodney King, sparking the 1992 LA race riots.
After information of his demise broke, an legal professional for Goldman’s household mentioned Simpson “died with out penance.”
Though he was acquitted of the prison fees, a civil court docket in 1996 discovered him responsible of their murders and ordered him to pay over $30m (£23.6m) to the sufferer’s households. He solely paid a few of the debt earlier than his demise.
A father of 5 kids (one in every of whom died as a toddler), Simpson had spent his later years leaning into his notoriety – together with his 2016 ebook If I Did It, the rights of which ended up going to Goldman’s household, and repeatedly commenting on different high-profile homicide and authorized instances.
