Twenty-six years almost to the day of her murder, the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson is outraged by a gaffe that could easily have been avoided with a simple Google search.
Ford Motor Company's relaunch of the new Bronco SUV was slated for July 9, 2020—O.J. Simpson's 73rd birthday.
Tanya Brown, the sister of O.J.'s slain ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, told the Detroit Free Press that she was shocked by the news when she heard it. After being discontinued since 1996, Ford planned to rerelease an all-new Ford Bronco on July 9, the birthday of the man many believe murdered her sister and her friend, Ron Goldman, on the night of June 12, 1994.
It's worth noting Ford also announced the relaunch on June 13, the date Brown Simpson and Goldman's bodies were discovered just after midnight.
07/09/20. The Wild Returns. #FordBronco #BuiltWild pic.twitter.com/KQSPQrtdu7
— Ford Motor Company (@Ford) June 13, 2020
Speaking to the Free Press, Brown said:
"Is that on purpose? My first reaction was, 'are you kidding me? This is funny?'"
The Ford Bronco became infamous on June 17, 1994, four days after the brutalized bodies of Brown Simpson and Goldman were discovered at her home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. O.J. Simpson and his friend Al Cowlings led LAPD on a low-speed chase in his white Ford Bronco after murder charges had been filed against him earlier that morning.
The chase, which interrupted the 1994 NBA finals, was televised live to an audience of an estimated 95 million people. Ford discontinued the Bronco two years later, and it is widely believed the negative publicity from the murder case was the reason.
For its part, Ford called the relaunch date "purely coincidental."
But for Tanya Brown and her family, it was a painful reminder of their family member's terrible demise, an event that remains fresh for them all these years later.
"We have moved on but you don't forget. You learn to live without that person. It gets easier with time. I think that's a defense we've all been given anytime somebody dies... That whole event changed us."
And the Ford Bronco is forever tied to that event—not only in the Brown's minds, but in the greater cultural consciousness.
As Mark Schirmer, a spokesman for Cox Automotive told the Free Press:
"[Some vehicles] are just part of our collective experience. Bronco, because of O.J., is certainly that."
Online, many people shared Tanya Brown's outrage.
People so mad about OJ's birthday, but Ford announced the Bronco reveal 26 years after the bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were found. https://t.co/hYFEMLxmp8
— Adam J. Tonge (@ajtonge40) June 19, 2020
Used to be a company would do all it could to avoid such an association. Not now, not in 2020. If it sells, do it! My god, it really is endtimes. https://t.co/czVge1RXYX
— Patchouli (@MJPatchouli) June 19, 2020
@Ford FORD MOTOR COMPANY will do anything to sell cars. Except make them reliable. Fire your mktg person! Selling on OJ BDAY??https://t.co/czWwMQKok9 via @MailOnline
— Tracy S. (@tracyscott6583) June 19, 2020
Meanwhile in other tone-deaf news:#fordbronco https://t.co/wvpiBcMy1E
— John Powell (@PowellJohnT) June 18, 2020
#Boycottford
@Ford are you kidding me? Disgraceful https://t.co/WsLJd3zjbb
— Disciple (@Discipl17458566) June 18, 2020
Hi there @forduk. Did you know that the new Bronco will debut on OJ Simpson's birthday this July? Does this concern you at all? I wonder what Nicole Brown's family thinks of this. https://t.co/LvGBEMIwYk
— LiberatePennsylvania (@76_LadyLiberty) June 18, 2020
What an insult to the Nicole Brown Simpson family.
Ford should introduce the new Bronco on Henry Ford's birthday, July 30, NOT July 7 which is OJ Simpson's birthdate.
FORD's PR dept. is fast asleep.
— wolf1 (@47WZLO) June 15, 2020
Can't make this stuff up people https://t.co/HfpQYubMHf
— Daniel BOBO Kurlan (@bobo103nyc) June 15, 2020
How sick are the descendants of Pacifist/Hitler-Loving Henry Ford?
This sick:
'Are you kidding me?' Nicole Brown Simpson's sister slams Ford's decision to launch its new Bronco on OJ Simpson's birthday after it became famoushttps://t.co/zZRsXhn9Cc
— Two Sets of Books (@RushetteNY) June 19, 2020
They said this release is purely coincidental to OJ birthday. They must think we boo boo the fool. https://t.co/uULXl0iGBZ pic.twitter.com/0Ta02iwpaW
— JazJean (@Jazyjdub) June 19, 2020
Exactly and as a society we have made the slaughtering of these two innocent victims a joke.. where is the justice for these murders ? https://t.co/ACbXY2xl1X
— John Nada🕶🕶🕶 (@JohnNadaToldYou) June 18, 2020
As for Ford Motor Company, the outcry has not gone unnoticed.
The reveal of the all-new Bronco lineup will now happen on Monday, July 13. This is instead of July 9. We are sensitive and respectful to some concerns raised previously about the date, which was purely coincidental.
— Ford Motor Company (@Ford) June 19, 2020
They moved the launch to July 13 earlier today.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social