Following the death of O.J. Simpson, one of the biggest rumors surrounding the star has resurfaced on social media.
On Thursday (April 11), the family of the American football running back issued a brief statement announcing that O.J. Simpson had passed away at the age of 76.
In a tweet shared to his X account, the family's statement read: "On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.
"He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.
"During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace."
Following the news of Simpson's death, a prominent rumor once again surfaced on X.
The rumors stem from claims made by Robert Kardashian's ex-wife and widow, Jan Ashley and Ellen Pierson, respectively, who suggested that Robert had doubts about daughter Khloé's paternity.
Khloé is famously one of four children Kris shared with the late lawyer, with the pair also having daughters Kim and Kourtney, and son Rob.
The siblings also have half-sisters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, from Kris' subsequent marriage to Caitlyn Jenner.
And despite both Khloé and Kris denying rumors that O.J. was her biological father - owing to the two families' close friendship - the rumors persisted.
O.J. - who played for both the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers - spoke out about the rumors on an episode of the Full Send podcast in 2022. Simpson categorically stated that the rumors were: "Nowhere close to being true."
He continued by saying that he'd never been attracted to Kris and that he believed she felt the same about him. "People have their types. I always thought Kris was a cute girl. She was really nice. But I was... dating supermodels", he said.
When pushed again about the rumor that he is Khloe's father he continued: "But the rumor ain't true. Not even nowhere close to being true. I never been attracted to her and I never suspected she was ever attracted to me. That was never a case."
Simpson's connection with the Kardashians dates back almost 30 years, when Kris' late husband Robert came out of retirement to be part of Simpson's legal team during his criminal trial in 1995.
The trial - which was one of the most widely publicized events in American history - was in relation to the brutal murder of OJ's ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. OJ had been an immediate person of interest in the wake of the murders.
In 2013, Robert Kardashian's third wife Ellen Pierson - who he was married to at the time of his death - claimed that he'd "confessed" on his deathbed that Khloé was not his biological daughter.
Then several years later, Khloé herself spoke out on the allegations during an episode of her since-canceled talk show Kocktails With Khloé, saying: "I think the thing that most became overwhelming was when, like, the stuff with one of my dad's wives.
"She wanted to come out, like, 10 years later after my dad passed away and said that I'm not his daughter and that he confided in her and blah-say-blah. I was like, 'Listen, you can talk about me and my sisters all you f**king want. Do not talk about my dad!'"
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