Why O.J. Simpson Is A Lesson to Black Men Like Jonathan Majors, Kanye, Who Tried Buying White Privilege Status For Themselves

Part of O.J. Simpson’s legacy is the blueprint he created for Black men to attain honorary white privilege status. But that status is an illusion, and the consequence of falling from grace is a reality check: relegation back to N-word status.

A lesson from the formerly beloved American Hero, who died Wednesday from cancer at 76, is that no matter how far you reach, at the end of the day, you’re still a Black man in America.

Before the Heisman Trophy, big NFL contracts and Hollywood films, “The Juice” was a poor Black kid growing up in San Francisco’s Potrero Terrace public housing development.

In the late 1960s, when other young Black men were revolting against white supremacy, O.J. sidestepped politics, honing a magnetism and non-threatening demeanor that put white people at ease.

After he became a celeb, O.J.’s marriage to his Black wife, Marguerite Whitley, crumbled, according to her divorce lawyer. He moved on and married Nicole Brown, a German-born blonde working at a Beverly Hills nightclub when they first met.

It may have seemed to O.J. that marrying Nicole Brown cemented his place in the upper echelons of white society. But he was wrong. Nearly 80% of whites believed he was guilty (compared to 22% of Blacks) of killing his white wife. Consequently, white society banished him forever. Overall, O.J.’s blueprint for success carries a warning: honorary white privilege status isn’t permanent.

Like O.J., Tiger Woods also enjoyed the admiration of white society until his downfall. At his peak, Tiger dominated golf, had a Swedish model wife, Elin Nordegren, and raked millions from corporate sponsors.

Then Tiger became a punchline in 2009 after his now ex-wife reportedly chased him (with a golf club in hand) out of their home for cheating on her. He was likely the wealthiest athlete at the time. But his tarnished reputation cost shareholders billions in lost revenues, prompting corporate sponsors to drop him.

Tiger had a second layer of delusion. The golf pro told Oprah that he considered himself a “Cablinasian” (a blend of Caucasian, Black, Indian and Asian).

But in America, one ounce of Black blood makes you Black. That reality set in when Florida police arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence and identified him as Black.

Kanye “Ye” West also had to learn this lesson hard way. The New York Times placed Ye and his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, on its list of power couples, on par with British royals Prince William and Princess Kate.

Then he was promptly exiled after making anti-Semitic comments, causing him to lose his billionaire status after companies like Adidas, Gap and others stopped doing business with him.

Then, of course, Jonathan Majors is only the latest example to learn O.J.’s lesson. The fast-rising Hollywood star plummeted back to earth after a jury convicted him in December of assault and harassment of his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, a 31-year-old white British dancer.

Majors is no longer the toast of the town. And after the verdict, Marvel Studios dropped him like a hot potato. But as Majors attempts to rehab his image by placing his relationship with a Black actress Meagan Good front and center, the question remains: When will these famous Black men learn that they can’t buy their way out of Blackness?

The sooner we all reconcile this, the sooner we will all stop losing so many good Black men to the fame monster.

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