As I was reading about O.J. and Nichole’s relationship, it made me think of the movie “Priscilla” that I just watched. I have no idea if Elvis was physically abusive but that movie (co-produced by Priscilla Presley) was clearly a belated cry for help. Elvis from first meeting the teen in Germany began grooming her. Eventually, when he deemed her “enough “ they married.
What did Pricilla’s parents think was going to happen with a shy teen and a hormonal famous young man? Talk about neglectful , star-struck pair (her parents) when they let her move to the U.S. with Elvis Presley. Who promised them to “take care of her.”
Elvis was a Mama’s boy and clearly saw Priscilla in the Virgin Mary/Whore paradigm. He took a little girl made her dye her hair black and selected clothing that was too mature for her but had a baby-doll look. Then sent her off to high school.
Throughout their marriage, she was emotionally abused, given way too many drugs, publicly cheated on with movie magazine actresses and he “sexually” used her. The sex wasn’t violent but he flaunted his affairs, cut her off sexually then “treated” her to sex with him.
I think Nichole’s and Priscilla’s stories are very similar. They came and stayed (or returned repeatedly) in spite of unhealthy unions. Both had poor self-esteem and got caught up in the allure of the fairy tale. Both became addicted to the attention of a famous, good-looking, idolized man.
As Elvis got lost in his own drug abuse, Priscilla followed him down the rabbit hole. After their daughter was born and Priscilla finally had enough of his affairs., she divorced him.
Nicole’s off again, on again relationship with O.J. was an addiction wherein her identity was not her own but as a wife of a famous man.
Abuse can take a variety of forms and create toxic relationships where both parties feed off each other. Unfortunately, Nichole and Ron Goldman were murdered because if O.J. couldn’t have her no one could.
What the case also proved and should never be forgotten is that black people can be as ignorantly bigoted as whites and should be equally held accountable for their bigotry. Denying blacks agency for their actions in condoning this (and many other) crimes is an example of infantilizing an entire race.
Maybe the abuse is … exciting? Made her feel important? Maybe she thought she knew just how far he would go? It’s brave of you to wade into this side of the story. It’s a good question why some women allow themselves to be victimized.
Best line in your article and great advice: ‘Don’t blame the victim’ to ‘Don’t BE the victim.’ Like you, it's difficult for me to understand how anyone can make the choice to stay in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship such as Nicole with OJ. Only thing I can figure is that some people prefer to be controlled. Also, they prefer fame and $ to self-respect. Good write-up.
This is probably a weird take-away from this article, but I just wanted to say thank you for acknowledging the fact that man are sometimes abused spouses too. As a man who was abused both emotionally and mentally (not physically for the most part. She hit me twice in ten years) it feels good to see an acknowledgement, however brief.
I've been laughed at and attacked as being offensive for saying I was abused by a woman so that meant a lot.
This was the perfect time to republish/ rework this article. With the death of OJ and the many new movies and documentaries about abusers like Jeffrey Epstein(I’m thinking, for example of the new Netflix docudrama “Scoop” which exposes Prince Andrew’s close connection to Epstein), society seems finally ready to both denounce abusers, and call out people who enable them. Personal responsibility seems to be making a comeback.
I love the way you show compassion for Nicole Brown while trying to delve into the mystery of her psyche. There is a darkness inside all of us that can take over if we don’t self-reflect. And American culture does not value self-reflection, idolizing as it does beauty, money, and status. As you rightly point out, Brown’s family did not do enough to disrupt her romantic , delusional inner narrative about OJ. And she needed to do some serious self searching for her own sake and for her children’s sake. Instead she became a cautionary tale for women in abusive relationships.
As I was reading about O.J. and Nichole’s relationship, it made me think of the movie “Priscilla” that I just watched. I have no idea if Elvis was physically abusive but that movie (co-produced by Priscilla Presley) was clearly a belated cry for help. Elvis from first meeting the teen in Germany began grooming her. Eventually, when he deemed her “enough “ they married.
What did Pricilla’s parents think was going to happen with a shy teen and a hormonal famous young man? Talk about neglectful , star-struck pair (her parents) when they let her move to the U.S. with Elvis Presley. Who promised them to “take care of her.”
Elvis was a Mama’s boy and clearly saw Priscilla in the Virgin Mary/Whore paradigm. He took a little girl made her dye her hair black and selected clothing that was too mature for her but had a baby-doll look. Then sent her off to high school.
Throughout their marriage, she was emotionally abused, given way too many drugs, publicly cheated on with movie magazine actresses and he “sexually” used her. The sex wasn’t violent but he flaunted his affairs, cut her off sexually then “treated” her to sex with him.
I think Nichole’s and Priscilla’s stories are very similar. They came and stayed (or returned repeatedly) in spite of unhealthy unions. Both had poor self-esteem and got caught up in the allure of the fairy tale. Both became addicted to the attention of a famous, good-looking, idolized man.
As Elvis got lost in his own drug abuse, Priscilla followed him down the rabbit hole. After their daughter was born and Priscilla finally had enough of his affairs., she divorced him.
Nicole’s off again, on again relationship with O.J. was an addiction wherein her identity was not her own but as a wife of a famous man.
Abuse can take a variety of forms and create toxic relationships where both parties feed off each other. Unfortunately, Nichole and Ron Goldman were murdered because if O.J. couldn’t have her no one could.
What the case also proved and should never be forgotten is that black people can be as ignorantly bigoted as whites and should be equally held accountable for their bigotry. Denying blacks agency for their actions in condoning this (and many other) crimes is an example of infantilizing an entire race.
Maybe the abuse is … exciting? Made her feel important? Maybe she thought she knew just how far he would go? It’s brave of you to wade into this side of the story. It’s a good question why some women allow themselves to be victimized.
Well done I just would change the words ‘she was in love with him’. Nothing there has anything to do with love.
Best line in your article and great advice: ‘Don’t blame the victim’ to ‘Don’t BE the victim.’ Like you, it's difficult for me to understand how anyone can make the choice to stay in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship such as Nicole with OJ. Only thing I can figure is that some people prefer to be controlled. Also, they prefer fame and $ to self-respect. Good write-up.
This is probably a weird take-away from this article, but I just wanted to say thank you for acknowledging the fact that man are sometimes abused spouses too. As a man who was abused both emotionally and mentally (not physically for the most part. She hit me twice in ten years) it feels good to see an acknowledgement, however brief.
I've been laughed at and attacked as being offensive for saying I was abused by a woman so that meant a lot.
This was the perfect time to republish/ rework this article. With the death of OJ and the many new movies and documentaries about abusers like Jeffrey Epstein(I’m thinking, for example of the new Netflix docudrama “Scoop” which exposes Prince Andrew’s close connection to Epstein), society seems finally ready to both denounce abusers, and call out people who enable them. Personal responsibility seems to be making a comeback.
I love the way you show compassion for Nicole Brown while trying to delve into the mystery of her psyche. There is a darkness inside all of us that can take over if we don’t self-reflect. And American culture does not value self-reflection, idolizing as it does beauty, money, and status. As you rightly point out, Brown’s family did not do enough to disrupt her romantic , delusional inner narrative about OJ. And she needed to do some serious self searching for her own sake and for her children’s sake. Instead she became a cautionary tale for women in abusive relationships.
Thank you for this. What a good factual summary and a good analysis