The best-supported answer to what OJ Simpson’s five kids really think about his horrific scandal is that no single family view is documented. Arnelle and Jason publicly supported Simpson at key moments, while Sydney and Justin were children when Nicole Brown Simpson was killed and have kept their adult beliefs about their father’s responsibility private.
The evidence supports documented behavior and statements—not a guessed answer about private beliefs. Arnelle supported parole, Jason read a statement after the criminal verdict, Sydney and Justin’s childhood distress was reported at the time, and Aaren died long before the 1994 murders.
Key takeaways
- O.J. Simpson had five children: Arnelle, Jason, Aaren, Sydney, and Justin; Aaren died in 1979 at 23 months old, long before the murders and trial.
- Arnelle Simpson publicly supported her father during his 2017 Nevada parole hearing, while Jason Simpson publicly appeared on his father’s side during the 1995 criminal proceedings.
- Sydney and Justin Simpson were young children asleep in Nicole Brown Simpson’s home when Nicole and Ronald Goldman were killed, and their adult views about their father’s responsibility have not been reliably documented.
- Simpson was acquitted in the 1995 criminal trial but was found liable for the deaths in a 1997 civil case.
- According to the Los Angeles Times in 2024, the civil jury awarded $33.5 million in damages; that legal result does not establish what any of Simpson’s children privately believed.
Who were OJ Simpson’s five children?
O.J. Simpson’s five children came from two marriages: Arnelle, Jason, and Aaren with Marguerite Whitley, followed by Sydney and Justin with Nicole Brown Simpson. Aaren’s death occurred in 1979, so she could not have formed a view about the 1994 killings, the 1995 trial, or the later scandal.
Nicole Brown Simpson and O.J. Simpson divorced in 1992. On June 12, 1994, Nicole and Ronald Goldman were killed outside Nicole’s Brentwood home while Sydney and Justin were asleep inside. The children were subsequently cared for by members of Nicole’s family during the immediate aftermath and the custody litigation, according to contemporaneous Los Angeles Times reporting on Nicole’s family.
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| Child | Age and proximity to the scandal | What is publicly documented | What the evidence does not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arnelle Simpson | Simpson’s older daughter and an adult during the 1994–95 legal proceedings. | She publicly supported Simpson during his 2017 parole process and was identified as someone expected to accompany him at the hearing. | Public support does not prove that she had no doubts, rejected the civil verdict, or accepted every part of Simpson’s public account. |
| Jason Simpson | Simpson’s older son and an adult during the criminal trial. | He appeared publicly on his father’s side and read a statement for Simpson after the 1995 verdict. | The statement does not reveal Jason’s complete private assessment of the evidence or prove that he never questioned his father. |
| Aaren Simpson | Simpson’s daughter with Marguerite Whitley; she died in 1979 at 23 months old. | Her death predated the 1994 murders and the legal proceedings by many years. | There can be no view from Aaren about the murders, trial, civil case, or family aftermath. |
| Sydney Simpson | Nicole Brown Simpson’s daughter; she was a young child asleep in the home when her mother was killed. | Contemporaneous reporting recorded her distress, and she later visited her father after his acquittal. Her adult views have largely remained private. | The childhood statements and later family contact do not prove that she believes Simpson was innocent, guilty, forgiven, or estranged. |
| Justin Simpson | Nicole Brown Simpson’s son; he was also a young child asleep in the home during the killings. | Reporting documents his childhood confusion and the custody and family aftermath, but no reliable direct adult statement explaining his view of the case has been located. | The public record cannot responsibly establish what Justin privately believes about Simpson’s responsibility. |
Do OJ Simpson’s kids think he was innocent?
No reliable public record shows that all five children—or even all four living children—shared a single belief that Simpson was innocent. Arnelle and Jason demonstrated public support at different points, while Sydney and Justin were children during the killings and have not publicly explained their adult views in a sufficiently direct, reliable way.
That distinction matters because family behavior can have several meanings. Reading a statement, attending a parole hearing, visiting a parent, maintaining privacy, or staying connected during a family crisis can reflect loyalty, love, dependence, grief, uncertainty, or a wish to avoid public exploitation. None of those actions, by themselves, proves a person’s view of criminal responsibility.
Did Arnelle Simpson support O.J. Simpson?
Yes. Arnelle Simpson publicly supported her father during his 2017 Nevada parole process, and contemporary reporting described the family as wanting Simpson home so they could move forward.
The official Nevada parole record from July 18, 2017 identified Arnelle as one of the people expected to accompany Simpson at the hearing. Earlier reporting also described her as writing a parole-support letter on behalf of the four living children.
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The defensible conclusion is that Arnelle publicly stood by her father during that parole process. The record does not justify stronger claims that Arnelle was certain of his innocence, rejected the civil jury’s finding, or never experienced private conflict over the case.
What did Jason Simpson say during the trial?
Jason Simpson publicly appeared on his father’s side during the 1995 criminal proceedings and read a statement for Simpson after the verdict. The statement said Simpson would pursue the killer or killers responsible for Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman’s deaths.
Jason’s appearance was an important public act of family support, but it was not a detailed, independently verified explanation of Jason’s private reasoning. A public statement made on behalf of a parent cannot be stretched into proof that Jason had evaluated every piece of evidence or never doubted his father.
What did Sydney and Justin say after Nicole Brown Simpson was killed?
Sydney and Justin’s reported words describe frightened children trying to understand why their mother had not returned; they do not provide adult verdicts about Simpson’s guilt or innocence.
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“Justin, you know something happened to Mommy or she would have come for us by now.”
The same report said Justin asked, “Why can’t Dad just come for us?” Sydney reportedly answered, “Because he doesn’t stay with us sometimes.” The remarks were recorded during a chaotic emergency, when the children were dealing with the disappearance and killing of their mother. They should not be presented as settled adult judgments about the murder case.
Did Sydney Simpson support her father after the acquittal?
Public reporting shows that Sydney visited her father after the 1995 acquittal, but the visit does not establish what she believed about the killings.
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Public reporting has also emphasized that Simpson’s children generally avoided discussing him with the media. That silence is meaningful for the story’s limits: it demonstrates a long-standing preference for privacy, not a confession, endorsement, rejection, or admission.
Did O.J. Simpson’s kids stay in contact with him?
The public record shows contact between Simpson and some of his children at particular moments, but it does not provide a complete or current account of every family relationship.
Sydney visited Simpson after his acquittal, Arnelle supported his parole process, and reporting after Simpson’s death in 2024 said his surviving children were involved in his final days. Those documented contacts show that family ties continued in some form. They do not prove forgiveness, agreement about the murders, reconciliation with Nicole’s relatives, or the absence of painful disagreement.
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The children’s custody history also needs careful wording. Members of Nicole Brown Simpson’s family cared for Sydney and Justin during the immediate aftermath and custody disputes. That fact does not establish a permanent estrangement from Simpson or a particular adult relationship with Nicole’s family.
How do the 1995 acquittal and 1997 civil verdict differ?
The 1995 criminal acquittal and the 1997 civil finding of liability were separate legal outcomes, so neither outcome can be used as a shortcut to explain what Simpson’s children privately thought.
| Proceeding | Year | Result | What the result means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal trial | 1995 | Simpson was acquitted. | The criminal jury found that the prosecution had not proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. An acquittal is not a universal judicial declaration that every factual allegation was false. |
| Civil case | 1997 | A civil jury found Simpson liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. | The separate civil proceeding produced a liability finding and damages award; it was not a criminal conviction. |
| Civil damages | 1997 | $33.5 million was awarded. | According to the Los Angeles Times’ 2024 report, the amount was awarded by the civil jury. The figure does not reveal any child’s private belief. |
For a child or adult family member, those outcomes could coexist with grief, loyalty, confusion, anger, or uncertainty. The existence of two different verdicts explains why the public record contains competing legal conclusions; it does not tell readers which conclusion any child accepted personally.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Did If I Did It reveal what O.J. Simpson’s children believed?
No. If I Did It is part of the scandal’s public legacy, not evidence of the children’s opinions.
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The book presented a purported hypothetical account of how Simpson would have committed the murders if he were responsible. A contemporary Washington Post report on the 2006 interview described that hypothetical framing. A later edition was retitled If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, a publication history reflected in the Google Books catalog record.
The controversy surrounding the book and its associated interview intensified public debate about Simpson, but neither publication provides a direct statement from Sydney, Justin, Arnelle, or Jason explaining what they believed. It would be especially misleading to use the book as a proxy for the children’s views.
What do OJ Simpson’s children think now?
The most accurate answer is that the adult beliefs of Sydney and Justin are not publicly established, and the available record does not provide one unified view among the surviving children.
Arnelle’s parole support and Jason’s courtroom-era statement document public loyalty. Sydney and Justin’s childhood reactions document trauma and family upheaval, while their later privacy prevents responsible conclusions about whether they believe Simpson was responsible, accept the criminal acquittal, accept the civil verdict, forgive their father, or feel estranged from him.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchSimpson died in 2024. Reports that his surviving children were involved in his final days describe family contact, not a final public verdict about the murders. The absence of a direct adult statement should remain an acknowledged fact rather than an invitation to speculate.
Further reading and viewing about the case
Readers who want broader context should keep trial history, dramatization, documentary interpretation, and the children’s private beliefs separate. None of the following is a substitute for a direct statement from the children.
| Title | Format | Useful for | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Run of His Life by Jeffrey Toobin | Nonfiction book | Background on the O.J. Simpson trial and its principal participants. | It is a trial narrative, not evidence of the children’s private opinions. Verify the current edition and purchasing availability before publication. |
| O.J.: Made in America | Five-part documentary | Context about race, celebrity, media, violence, and the criminal-justice system. | Current U.S. streaming availability can change by date and territory, and the documentary cannot establish what the children privately believe. |
| The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Scripted television adaptation | A dramatized way to revisit the trial’s public narrative. | It is not a primary source and should not be treated as evidence of the family’s actual thoughts. |
| The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson | Victim-centered documentary | Nicole’s family perspective and a corrective to treating the case only as an O.J. Simpson story. | It provides context about Nicole and her family, not a verified statement of Sydney’s or Justin’s adult beliefs. |
Bottom line: Arnelle and Jason publicly supported O.J. Simpson at important moments, but that support cannot be converted into a complete family verdict. Sydney and Justin’s adult views remain private, and Aaren died before the scandal. The responsible conclusion is not that the children agreed with one another, but that the public record does not tell us everything they thought.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Arnelle and Jason publicly supported O.J. Simpson at important moments, but Sydney and Justin’s adult beliefs about the murders remain undocumented. Family contact, childhood distress, privacy, and legal outcomes are evidence of circumstances—not proof of innocence, guilt, forgiveness, or estrangement.
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