June 20, 2024: Simpson Trial Figures: Kato and Kardashian

[On June 17th,1994, O.J. Simpson was arrested by the LAPD. The subsequent trial featureda number of individuals whosestories have a great deal to tell us about America, then, now, andoverall, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy a handful of Simpson trial figures.Leading up to a special weekend post from one of my favorite youngAmericanStudiers!]

On how thetrial shaped two forms of celebrity culture, and an important alternative.

The OJtrial was such a media circus (to the point that the very phrase “mediacircus” has become almost synonymous with these events) that it not onlyfeatured a celebrity client and celebrity defense attorney (both of which Iwrote about in yesterday’s post), but also spawned a number of additional celebrities.There’s plenty of competition for which was the nuttiest—a list that includesthe judge, for crying out loud—but I would have to declare OJ’s vagabond houseguestKato Kaelin as the winner of that bizarre contest. I don’t know if Kato wasthe first person in American history to become and remain famousfor being famous, with absolutely no discernible talents or achievementsbeyond the fame itself. But he most definitely exemplified that trend at astill-early period in its development—and given the ways in which over the subsequentthree decades the genreof reality TV has created an entire cottage industry dedicated to producingcountless more such famous-for-being-famous individuals and communities,it’s fair to say that no legacy of the OJ trial was more culturally significantthan that of Kato Kaelin’s bizarre yet inarguable celebrity status.

I don’tthink any 21st century individuals better exemplify that famous-for-being-famoustrend than do the Kardashians, and it’s thus far from a coincidence that thatfamily’s rise to fame likewise began with the OJ trial. Entrepreneur and attorneyRobertKardashian wasn’t just a longtime friend of OJ Simpson’s who became part ofhis defense team; he was also a thoroughly private citizen who through thosecontexts and events became one of that moment’s most publicand famous figures. Or, more exactly and even more tellingly, whose ownfleeting such fame in 1994-5 helped open the door for multi-generational familialfame over the subsequent decades, for his ex-wife Kris Houghton (formerly Kardashian)(now Jenner) and their four children (Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian)to become one of the 21st century’s most wealthy and influentialmedia empires (I wish that felt more like hyperbole than it does). Individualfame like Kato Kaelin’s is striking but relatively powerless; Kardashian-levelfame brings with it a great deal of 21stcentury power.

That finalhyperlink is to Kim Kardashian’s podcastThe System, which highlights the case of a wrongfully-accused and-incarcerated individual (Kevin Keith) in an effort to change the criminaljustice system more broadly. When it comes to this week’s blog subject, obviouslythere are complicated OJ trial echoes around the phrase “wrongfully accused,”although I genuinely don’t imagine Kim is making that connection. But I wouldalso highlight one of the more strikingindividual scenes from The People v. O.J. Simpson, depicting RobertKardashian (David Schwimmer) at a Father’s Day brunch with his four kids.Kardashian’s fame is on the rise and his kids are excited, but he instructs them that “inthis family, being a good person and a loyal friend is more important thanbeing famous. Fame is fleeting, it’s hollow. It means nothing at all without avirtuous heart.” Of course the moment (a fictional one created by the show’swriters) feels deeply ironic given what would go to happen to those four kids.But I would argue that Kim’s podcast reflects the continued presence of thisalternative possibility, for this family and for all of us—not one that opposesfame or celebrity per se (they will always be part of our society), but one inwhich meaningful actions remain more important than fame.

Lastfigure tomorrow,

Ben

PS. Whatdo you think? Simpson trial figures or stories you’d highlight?