Ryan Murphy may have played up the Kardashian family's part in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. But the truth is that while Kris Jenner and Nicole Brown Simpson were close, the Kardashian matriarch has known O.J. since she was a teenager — which made the aftermath of her friend's murder all the more difficult.
"I didn't know that there was abuse until we heard and saw the whole thing unfold like everybody else, and then heard the 911 tapes," Jenner recently told Ellen DeGeneres during a candid conversation about her relationship with the Simpsons.
She added that she felt as though she had "failed as a friend" for not recognizing what Nicole was going through. "I always feel horrible that I didn't pay enough attention," she went on.
But Jenner also made clear that there were conflicting loyalties at play after Nicole's death. "I had known O.J. since I was 17 years old," Jenner, 60, explained. "When I met Robert, I met O.J. He was like a big brother to me." That personal history is likely what led the former football star to call Jenner to talk about his feelings in the days following the discovery of his wife's body.
"Right after, he called me a few times and wanted to talk and explain how he felt," Jenner continued. "Every single day, it was something different and it was really difficult. My ex-husband was on one side, and I was on the other. The kids were in the middle... Everybody lost so much that night."
Listen to her full Q&A with Ellen DeGeneres in the clip below.
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