Kim Kardashian’s Saturday Night Live monologue took the internet by storm last weekend, with her jokes about O.J. Simpson in particular catching viewers off guard.
The KKW Beauty mogul delivered a bunch of unexpectedly harsh jokes during her SNL hosting debut, which surprised fans and viewers worldwide.
During the brutal monologue, Kim made several controversial jokes about O.J. Simpson, who was defended by Kim’s late father, Robert Kardashian, in his controversial 1994 double-murder trial.
Kim began by speaking about her father’s influence on her work fighting racial injustice before going on to joke about Simpson, who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. Both were stabbed to death outside Nicole's home.
“It’s because of [my father] that I met my first Black person. Wanna take a stab in the dark at who it was?” Kim joked.
“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,” she went on.
Kim’s comments were met with disappointment from a number of viewers, many of whom called the jokes “really tasteless” and “disgusting” especially in light of the fact that Nicole was a close friend of Kim’s mom, Kris Jenner.
In fact, the pair had been so close that Kris paid tribute to her friend by giving Kendall Jenner the middle name "Nicole" when she was born a year after the murders.
“I really hate how Kim said that joke about OJ on SNL,” one viewer tweeted. “A woman being murdered should not be mocked and is not funny at alllll.”
I really hate how Kim said that joke about OJ on SNL. A woman being murdered should not be mocked and is not funny at alllll.
“I don't understand the intent of the O.J. jokes,” another said. “Kim's mother was close friends with Nicole. Also Nicole's murder is obviously still a sore subject for her family.”
@TMZ I don't understand the intent of the O.J. jokes. Kim's mother was close friends with Nicole. Also Nicole's murder is obviously still a sore subject for her family.
And many of the outraged viewers were left wondering how the jokes would be received by both Nicole's family and by her and Simpson's children, who were just 8 and 5 when she died.
“Imagine how Nicole Brown’s family must feel, or OJ Simpsons children who lost their mother,” one person tweeted.
Imagine how Nicole Brown’s family must feel, or OJ Simpsons children who lost their mother… #KimKardashian #SNL
“Kim Kardashian OJ jokes, not funny to the family of Nicole Brown,” echoed another.
Kim Kardashian OJ jokes, not funny to the family of Nicole Brown.
Well, Nicole's family has now addressed the jokes, with her sister, Tanya Brown, calling Kim out for the "insensitive" material.
According to TMZ, Tanya said that Kim’s jokes about Simpson were in “poor taste” and that it was “shocking” to watch and hear the audience laughing along.
Tanya allegedly went on to call the jokes “beyond inappropriate” and maintained that Kim should have refused to make light of the topic. She insinuated that the SNL writers — who have joked about O.J. Simpson on numerous occasions in the past — had been behind the jokes.
TMZ also claimed that Tanya was left questioning how much the Kardashians really cared about Nicole considering how close Nicole and Kris Jenner were.
Tanya’s comments were quickly met with abundant support from viewers, who took to Twitter to express their sympathy for her.
“I can understand why Nicole Brown’s sister was upset,” one user tweeted. “Kim’s mother was good friends with Nicole. Kim knew her. To make a joke about the stabbing murder of someone you and your family were supposed to be close to? That’s actually pretty cruel.”
@pugsandco I can understand why Nicole Brown’s sister was upset. Kim’s mother was good friends with Nicole. Kim knew her. To make a joke about the stabbing murder of someone you and your family were supposed to be close to? That’s actually pretty cruel.
“[Tanya] does have a point … it must be awful to constantly hear jokes about your sisters death,” wrote another.
@TMZ she does have a point. i didn’t even think of that. it must be awful to constantly hear jokes about your sisters death
Kim’s controversial jokes about Simpson were especially surprising given that she’s rarely ever commented publicly on the trial out of respect for his children.
“[O.J.] and Nicole's kids are all so amazing... I just have respect for them,” Kim explained in an appearance on Jonathan Cheban’s podcast in 2019. “Their lives must be extremely hard to really go through that. So, I always try to keep to myself on that issue and not bring anything up for them.”
And just last year, Kim opened up about how the whole experience of the trial — which saw her parents constantly fighting over being on opposing sides — “tore [her] family apart.”
At the time, Kim even refused to share her opinion on the case. “I’ve never expressed how I've felt about that because I just respect his children,” she said.
Kim’s jokes about Simpson have become widely recognized as the most brutal part of her monologue, yet the reality star also raised eyebrows with quips about her sex tape and divorce from Kanye West as well as her sisters’ plastic surgeries.
“When they asked me to host [SNL], I was like, why? I haven’t had a movie premiere in a long time,” she joked, referencing her infamous sex tape before addressing the rumors that it was her mom who leaked it: “I mean actually, I only had that one movie come out, and no one even told me it was premiering... It must’ve slipped my mom’s mind.”
“I’m excited to be here tonight to show you guys that I’m so much more than a pretty face… and good hair, and great makeup, and amazing boobs and a perfect butt. Basically, I’m just so much more than that reference photo my sisters showed their plastic surgeons,” she joked later on.
Shortly after, Kim publicly joked about her divorce from Kanye for the first time. She began: “I married the best rapper of all time. Not only that, he’s the richest Black man in America. A talented, legit genius who gave me four incredible kids.”
“So, when I divorced him, you have to know it came down to just one thing: his personality,” she joked.
Despite the majority of Kim’s jokes being fairly well-received by viewers — her hosting debut ultimately scored SNL a 23% boost in its ratings — it’s looking like some of her harsher jokes may be remembered less favorably.
