O.J. Simpson honored during BET Awards' In Memoriam, shocking social media

Awards shows often generate controversy over who is left out of the In Memoriam. But at the 2024 BET Awards, it was who made the cut that riled up viewers.

During Sunday's awards ceremony, the In Memoriam segment honoring those who have died in the past year included O.J. Simpson, who was credited on screen as "former NFL player."

On social media, viewers were taken aback to see Simpson featured in the segment given he was controversially acquitted for the 1994 murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman and later convicted of armed robbery.

Tia Mowry introduced the In Memoriam as a tribute to "the Black excellence that we unfortunately lost this year," adding, "It's never easy to say goodbye to those who influence us, but we can take a moment to celebrate and acknowledge their contributions to the culture." She also said that those featured "changed how our artistry is seen and left us with a legacy that we will always remember."

"lol OJ Simpson in memoriam for anything is WILD no matter how you slice it," read one post on X, which received more than 2,500 likes.

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Other users shared memes to indicate their shocked and confused reactions, and one viewer suggested the audience "didn't know what to do" when he popped up on screen. Applause could be heard on the televised broadcast when Simpson came up.

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USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for BET for comment.

Still others posted a version of a joke comedy writer Jim Downey made on Conan O'Brien's podcast where he pretended to only know sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a New York financier. "I'm talking about OJ Simpson the NFL Running Back?" one X user posted alongside a screenshot from Downey's bit.

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Simpson died in April at age 76 following a battle with prostate cancer. Willie Mays, Richard Roundtree, Ron Cephas Jones, Louis Gossett Jr., Carl Weathers and Bill Cobbs were among the late stars who were also honored during the In Memoriam tribute.

Other highlights from Sunday's BET Awards included Will Smith performing his new song "You Can Make It" and Usher being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The audio dropped out at certain points during Usher's speech, which some viewers brought up after the In Memoriam. One X user wrote, "So BET can mute whatever the hell Usher said but can add OJ to the in memoriam?? #BETAwards Please explain your morals!"