How O.J. Simpson Tried—and Failed—to Rebrand Himself in Final Years
Long before Donald Trump was using social media to divide America, O.J. Simpson was among the country’s most polarizing figures. So when, in what ended up being his final years, Simpson used his Twitter/X account to to share his thoughts about literally anything and everything, he seemed to think he might be able to rebrand himself as something other than an acquitted murder suspect. But the reputation rehab never fully materialized.
One way “The Juice” had been attempting to position himself as a somewhat normalized figure in the public eye before his death this week at 76 was through his infamous “Hey Twitter World” videos—in which he’d talk to his phone camera about everything from Roe v. Wade to football game predictions.
But as “charming” as those videos may have been to some, celebrity branding expert Bernt Ullmann, known for his work with Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez, Adam Levine, and more, tells The Daily Beast that there was ultimately nothing he could do to alter the public’s negative perception about him.