As Kim Kardashian won over hardcore Saturday Night Live fans and castmembers alike, there’s one person who was left unimpressed by the Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum: Tanya Brown, the sister of O.J. Simpson’s late ex-wife, Nicole Brown.
Kim, 40, as the first person from the Kardashian-Jenner clan to host the late-night sketch comedy show, delivered a monologue full of playful jabs at her family members. However, Tanya, 50, felt the jokes including O.J. were “distasteful,” according to TMZ.
Coached by SNL writer Jasmine Pierce, who also served as the producer of the monologue, the Skims founder delivered a solid monologue, paused for laughs and won over an audience that doubted the reality TV star’s hosting abilities on October 9.
It is possible that some jokes were run by family members first, including Kim suggesting her sisters brought a photo of herself to their plastic surgeons as a reference and how her mother, Kris Jenner, had the foresight not to use the “K” name “Karen,” while naming her children but somehow didn’t see “Caitlyn [Jenner]” coming. However, Tanya seemingly believes Kim should have refused to make jokes concerning O.J. and her sister.
In June 1994, Nicole, aged 35, was stabbed to death outside of her home along with her friend, Ron Goldman, who was 25. An autopsy revealed she had been stabbed seven times in the neck and scalp and had a 5.5 inch-long gash across her throat. O.J. was infamously tried for both killings; Robert Kardashian, Kim’s father who died in 2003, served as the former football player’s defense attorney. After an incredibly public and polarizing trial, O.J. was ultimately acquitted.
“A real passion of mine is getting wrongly accused people out of jail,” Kim said during her monologue. “You know, I think I’m following in my father’s footsteps.”
“Now, you know, my father was and still is such an influence and inspiration to me and I credit him with really opening up my eyes to racial injustice,” Kim continued. “It’s because of him that I met my first Black person.”
“Want to take a stab in the dark at who it was?” she said, referring to the allegations against O.J. “I know it’s sort of weird to remember the first Black person you met, but O.J. does leave a mark — or several. Or none at all. I still don’t know.”
Tanya said the jokes were “beyond inappropriate and insensitive,” adding that beyond the upsetting jokes, she was shocked to hear the SNL audience laugh at the material.
While some fans sounded off on Twitter regarding the jokes, questioning what the writers were thinking, other longtime SNL viewers believe the O.J. jokes were in part a nod to the late former cast member Norm Macdonald who frequently made jokes regarding O.J. during the show’s “Weekend Update” segment.