A CNN contributor was criticized this week after she claimed that O.J. Simpson “represented something” for the Black community because “two white people were killed” nearly 30 years ago, RadarOnline.com can report.
CNN contributor Ashley Allison, who previously worked for the Obama Administration and reportedly worked on Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and transition team, made the controversial claim on Thursday while discussing Simpson’s recent death.
Allison claimed that Simpson’s murder case and subsequent trial represented “just how Black Americans feel about policing.”
“He wasn’t a social justice leader, but he represented something for the Black community in that moment, in that trial, particularly because there were two white people who had been killed,” Allison said during the CNN broadcast on Thursday.
“And the history around how Black people have been persecuted during slavery,” she added.
The CNN contributor faced immediate backlash for her surprising remarks, and several viewers accused Allison of racism for her comments about Simpson and the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman in June 1994.
“Absolutely unhinged racism,” one surprised viewer wrote.
“They’re continuing to say the quiet part out loud,” another person tweeted.
“Funny,” a third X user responded, “she says we need to deal with the issue but doesn't realize she is the issue.”
“These remarks are insane,” yet another viewer wrote.
Meanwhile, Allison was not the only media pundit to face backlash for remarks about Simpson’s murder trial 30 years ago.
Marc Lamont Hill, another media personality, claimed that Simpson’s acquittal for Brown and Goldman’s suspected murders in October 1995 was the “correct and necessary result” for a “racist criminal legal system.”
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“O.J. Simpson was an abusive liar who abandoned his community long before he killed two people in cold blood,” Hill charged shortly after Simpson’s death was announced on Thursday.
“His acquittal for murder was the correct and necessary result of a racist criminal legal system,” Hill continued. “But he’s still a monster, not a martyr.”
Like Allison, Hill faced immediate backlash for his controversial take on Simpson’s acquittal.
“Saying he left the black community and admitting he is a murderer but believing he still deserves black criminal immunity is wild,” one person responded to Hill’s tweet.
“If you think his acquittal was ‘correct and necessary,’ YOU are a racist,” another X user wrote.
“Funny take that you feel that a guy murdered two people but should be let off because he is black,” a third person scoffed. “Who is racist?”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Simpson passed away from prostate cancer on Wednesday at 76 years old. His family announced the former NFL star’s passing on Thursday via a statement posted to X.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” Simpson’s family wrote. “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,” the statement concluded.
Simpson’s death on Wednesday came nearly 30 years after he was arrested and charged with the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in June 1994.
He was ultimately acquitted of the double murder in October 1995 following an eleven-month trial.