Ford Motor Company will reschedule the launch date of its new Bronco, set to take place on 9 July, to avoid unwanted controversy, as the “unintentionally” chosen date coincides with the 73rd birthday of former football legend and actor Orenthal James Simpson, better known by the initials OJ.
The automaker said that the debut date “unintentionally coincided” with the birthday of the infamous sports star, who is best known for being tried for two high-profile murders in the 1990s and also for a televised chase in which he drove his Ford Bronco around the highways of Los Angeles for hours flanked by a squadron of Los Angeles police including helicopters, intending to arrest him.
After 25 years, the 2021 Ford Bronco debuts on July 9th.
— Heather Mills (@HeatherNews3LV) June 16, 2020
OJ Simpsons birthday. pic.twitter.com/sbk8Eyx1gM
The release of the new Ford mid-sized SUV is now set for Monday, 13 July.
“The reveal of the all-new Ford Bronco lineup will now happen on Monday, July 13. The previous targeted date of July 9 unintentionally coincided with OJ Simpson’s birthday,” Ford’s public relations chief Mark Truby announced on Friday.
UPDATE: The reveal of the all-new Ford Bronco lineup will now happen on Monday, July 13. The previous targeted date of July 9 unintentionally coincided with O.J. Simpson’s birthday. We wanted to be sensitive and respectful of this concern.
— Mark Truby (@mtruby) June 19, 2020
The official added that the company “wanted to be sensitive and respectful of this concern”.
In 1994, OJ Simpson was accused of murdering his former spouse, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman. In 1995, he was acquitted of the charges after a lengthy trial, characterized as “the trial of the century”, because of its international publicity.
In a 1997 civil suit two years later, Simpson was found guilty for the wrongful deaths.
In fall 2007, the former footballer published a book titled ‘If I Did It’, in which he put forth a hypothetical alternate description of the two murders.
