The Strange Request O.J. Simpson Made To Loved Ones In His Final Days
Ahead of O.J. Simpson's death at the age of 76, he spent time with many of his nearest and dearest. However, it seems he made a fairly bizarre request of everyone he saw in his final days. According to insiders in the know, they were tasked with signing NDAs.
News of this strange request first broke when sources spoke to TMZ about the arrangement. Based on their testimony, every single person present for O.J.'s final days, whether relatives, friends, or staff, had to sign the non-disclosures. The sources estimated that around 50 people were involved altogether, including the children he shared with the late Nicole Brown, son Justin and daughter Sydney Simpson. The NDAs weren't all, though. The source also told the outlet that taking phones into O.J.'s room was strictly prohibited.
Of course, other than the revelation that there were NDAs, that's all that's been made public — and for obvious reasons, that's likely to remain the case. Even so, we do have some details about who was there — and in some cases, the request for an NDA only becomes stranger. After all, when it comes to his kids and closest friends, it's unlikely an NDA would have been necessary in the first place.
It's unlikely his kids would have said anything
Though the secrecy surrounding O.J. Simpson's final days means it's not clear who all was by his side in his final days, one thing that has been confirmed is that all his children were there. That was made clear in the initial statement by the family to X, previously Twitter, which announced his passing on Thursday, April 11. "He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren," the statement read.
It is worth noting that Simpson's kids and grandchildren probably didn't need to sign anything to prove they'd keep their final moments between them. After all, Simpson had a close relationship with his five children. For starters, his eldest daughter, shared with first wife, Marguerite Whitley, has been known to come to her father's defense on many occasions. In fact, back in 2017, Arnelle Simpson spoke at O.J.'s parole hearing and vouched for his character as an imperfect, yet always positive influence.
As for O.J.'s other kids, his son shared with Nicole Brown, Justin Simpson is said to have moved in with him as his cancer progressed. However, other than that, he's stayed quiet — as has his sister, Sydney Brown, and their elder half-brother Jason Simpson. All that considered, it's not likely the NDA was aimed at them, specifically.
O.J. also had a fiercely loyal friend in Al Cowlings
Another person we're willing to wager the NDA wasn't aimed at? O.J. Simpson's friend, Al Cowlings. As many may remember, Cowlings was the one who drove Simpson as police chased after them in 1994 — but maintained that he did so in the hopes of protecting Simpson from himself.
Over the years, Cowlings has continued to be fiercely quiet about his relationship with Simpson. In fact, in addition to refusing to give commentary to journalists, he also even warned that he may decide to sue the creators of "The People vs. O.J. Simpson" because he was so averse to being portrayed in the show.
In light of that, the thought of Cowlings of all people needing to sign an NDA certainly is bizarre. However, something tells us that the NDA was aimed at people who weren't as close to Simpson. Because we don't know the names of everyone who went to see him in his last days, there's a good chance some of the people coming into his home weren't quite as close with the former footballer. At the end of the day, it's very unlikely we'll ever know the true reasons behind the NDA. However, we hope everyone who saw Simpson ahead of his death was able to find peace.