Kato Kaelin is reflecting on the one reaction to O.J. Simpson’s not guilty verdict that he will never forget.
Kaelin, who appeared as one of the witnesses in the “scary” murder trial, recently spoke to PEOPLE about who he was with when the verdict was announced. It was none other than 20/20’s Barbara Walters.
“It was just her and I sitting and she asked me, ‘What do you think of the decision?’” Kato Kaelin recalled. “I just said, ‘I think the jury made a mistake.’”
Speaking about his chat with Walters, Kaelin said he had seen her three or four times on shows or when she visited Los Angeles. He also recalled Walters nodding her head when he made his comment.
“I think that she agreed,” Kato Kaelin claimed. “I think she kind of nodded, and that was really about it.”
O.J. Simpson was known as the key suspect in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. The two were murdered on June 12, 1994. Simpson notably had a history of violence with Brown. Following his infamous low-speed police chase through Los Angeles, Simpson was arrested and charged for the murders.
After nearly nine months, the deemed “Trial of the Century” ended with Simpson being acquitted of the murders. However, his legal woes didn’t end there. He was sued by the Browns and Goldmans. He was found liable for Nicole and Ron’s deaths and was ordered to pay both families $33.5 million.
Years later, Simpson was arrested for burglary and kidnapping. He was convicted and sentenced to 33 years in prison but only served nine years before being paroled in 2017.
Simpson died on April 10 from prostate cancer. He was 76.
Kato Kaelin Reflects on Meeting Nicole Brown, Moving Into Guest House Before Murders
Along with discussing the trial, Kaelin recalled first meeting O.J. Simpson’s second wife, Nicole Brown, while on a trip to Aspen with General Hospital star Grant Cramer.
“Everybody just became instant friends,” Kato said. He had also become close with Brown while she was dating one of his friends.
Kaelin then reflected on when he first moved into Nicole’s Brentwood condo guest house.
“At the time I was living in Hermosa Beach, California,” he said. “And I drove up from Hermosa to a few of Nicole’s parties and she had a guest house. And after meeting Sydney and Justin, her kids, they loved me and I said, ‘Hey can I live in a guest house?’ And that’s how it all started and became friends that way.”
Kaelin then said he never saw a physical fight between O.J. and Nicole, but he noted the couple had their issues. “Well, I’m not a fan of his, that’s all I say,” he pointed out.
While describing the former athlete as charismatic and being “adulated by people,” Kato disclosed that O.J. and Nicole had their differences. “I thought he was a guilty person.”
Kato Kaelin said his acting career significantly declined after he appeared as a witness in Simpson’s trial. He wonders what his career would have been like if he hadn’t testified against Simpson.
“I was getting auditions,” he added. “Then the trial happened. Would I have been a star? I don’t know. I doubt it. But maybe I would have been a working actor.”