O.J. Simpson has slammed a leading journalist for a lack of integrity. The disgraced football star, who is a convicted felon and who stood trial for two murders before he was aquitted, criticized Gayle King for questions she asked about Kobe Bryant in an interview. Posting on Instagram, the man who was found liable of the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in a civil trial leveled moral criticism at King.
"I know this thing about Kobe, she's going to claim 'journalistic integrity,'" Simpson said in a video posted Sunday. "A whole lot of people that have journalistic integrity didn't feel that this was the right time to do that."
Simpson added that there would be "plenty of time in the future to bring up all aspects of Kobe's life," but now was not the time. Instead, "we should be celebrating the greatness of Kobe and his family. God bless Kobe and his family," he said. "I'm just saying, take care."
Several other prominent figures have slammed King for an interview on "CBS This Morning" with former WNBA star Lisa Leslie in which she brought up Bryant's past, when he was accused of rape.
Many said King was forcing the conversation toward the topic rather than focusing on Bryant's family and career. But King pointed out that the clip was put out by her network and was just a small part of her interview. She was upset with the network for releasing the clip out of context.
Last week, Snoop Dogg unleashed a tirade of Instagram posts in which he took multiple swipes at King. In one post he condemned her for trying to "tarnish" Bryant's reputation, according to USA Today. "Respect the family and back off," he continued, "before we come and get you."
He later said he was not threatening King, stating in a video to Instagram that he is a "non-violent person" who "spoke for the people who felt like Gayle was very disrespectful towards Kobe Bryant and his family."
Bryant was not prosecuted for rape after the accuser, whose name was never released, refused to testify in 2004. Bryant later paid the accuser as part of a civil trial settlement.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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