'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 famous for being the footballer's getaway car amid his double murder charges
- Ford announced on social media last week it will give its first glimpse of the new Bronco on July 9 - the same day Simpson will celebrate his 73rd birthday
- The Bronco is synonymous with Simpson's infamous car chase
- 'The Juice' led cops on a two-hour chase on an LA interstate in a white Bronco
- He went on the run after being charged over the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1994
- The chase was aired on live TV and watched by 95 million Americans
- Nicole Brown Simpson's heartbroken sister Tanya Brown broke her silence on the announcement this week
- 'Are you kidding me? This is funny?' she blasted the company
- Ford said the date was 'purely coincidental' but social media users cast doubts
Nicole Brown Simpson's sister has slammed Ford's decision to launch its new Bronco on OJ Simpson's birthday after it became famous for being the footballer's getaway car amid his double murder charges.
The auto company announced in a tweet last week it will give its first glimpse of the new Ford Bronco on July 9, falling on the same day that Simpson will celebrate his 73rd birthday.
The white Bronco became one of the most infamous vehicles on the road 26 years back when the former football star led cops on a televised car chase down an LA highway following the brutal murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Brown Simpson's heartbroken sister Tanya Brown broke her silence on the announcement this week, telling the Detroit Free Press she was shocked at the distasteful timing of the release.
Nicole Brown Simpson's (pictured with OJ Simpson in 1993) sister has slammed Ford's decision to launch its new Bronco on OJ Simpson's birthday after it became famous for being the footballer's getaway car amid his double murder charges
Ford has kept details of the remake of the classic 1966 to 1996 vehicle secret. But the vehicle is best known for its links to the murder trial of the century. Pictured is the white Ford Bronco during the 1994 chase when the former football star was charged with double murders
'Is that on purpose? My first reaction was, "are you kidding me? This is funny?",' she said.
'I just don't know if it's a good marketing twist.'
Tanya Brown said the trauma of her sister's slaying is still fresh today with last week marking the 26th anniversary of her murder and this Wednesday the infamous car chase.
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'We have moved on but you don't forget. You learn to live without that person. It gets easier with time,' she told the Free Press.
Ford did not immediately return DailyMail.com's request for comment over the choice of date but it has previously said the move is 'purely coincidental'.
'We're going to reveal Bronco just like we said we would on July 9,' Mike Levine, Ford North America product communications manager, told the Free Press, adding that Simpson's birthday is 'purely coincidental.'
The auto company announced in a Tweet last week it will give its first glimpse of the new Bronco on July 9, falling on the same day that OJ Simpson will celebrate his 73rd birthday
But social media users have cast doubt on this apparent lack of awareness and have also criticized the choice of launch date.
'This has to be on purpose. Hey are you including a signature pair of driving gloves?' one person tweeted, alluding to the pair of blood-soaked gloves - one found on Simpson's estate and the other outside Brown Simpson's home - which led to the prosecution unraveling in Simpson's murder trial when the sports star was asked to put on the gloves and they were too small for him.
'Ford says it’s just a coincidence that the new ford bronco release date is OJ Simpson’s birthday. They went on to say it’s also a coincidence they’re not releasing the glove compartment till Johnnie Cochran’s birthday,' one person tweeted in reference to Simpson's lawyer.
Social media users have cast doubt on this apparent lack of awareness and have also criticized the choice of launch date
Another tweeted: 'Next up on WTF 2020?!: Ford is revealing the Bronco on Oj Simpson's birthday.'
Ford announced the controversial move on social media on June 13 tweeting 'The Wild Returns' along with the announcement of the world premiere of the new Bronco on July 9.
The SUV, which will be built at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, will go on sale next year.
Ford has kept details of the remake of the classic 1966 to 1996 vehicle secret but it will be made in both a two-door and four-door version and will feature independent front suspension.
It is poised to rival the Jeep Wrangler and appeal to drivers looking for an off-road adventure.
Simpson during his 1995 murder trial where he was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman
But the car is best known for being embroiled in the so-called 'Trial of the Century' when Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Goldman back in 1994.
The former sports star famously led LA cops on a car chase in a white Ford Bronco on June 17 1994, after he was charged with the two slayings.
The car was driven by his friend and former teammate AL Cowlings and footage of the 60-mile two-hour slow-speed pursuit along an LA interstate was aired on live TV and watched by 95 million Americans - making it one of the most watched events in TV history.
Simpson walked free after an 11-month trial which was streamed live on TV and closely followed by the nation.
He was controversially acquitted but was later found responsible for the wrongful deaths of the two victims in a civil trial.
At the time of the car chase and trial, Ford was reportedly far from pleased with being tied to the case.
OJ SIMPSON'S INFAMOUS BRONCO CHASE
OJ Simpson became the prime suspect in the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, after they were found stabbed to death at her home on June 13 1994.
On June 17 'The Juice' was charged with double murder but he failed to turn himself in and disappeared.
LA cops declared the former footballer a fugitive and a few hours later at around 6:45 p.m. the infamous car chase began.
Simpson, sitting in the back of a 1993 white Ford Bronco and armed with a gun - which he reportedly had held to his head, led cops on a 60-mile two-hour slow-speed pursuit along an LA interstate.
The car was driven by his friend and former teammate AL Cowlings.
Footage of the pursuit was aired on live TV and watched by 95 million Americans - making it one of the most watched events in TV's history.
Despite the long-running chase, Simpson insisted he wasn't trying to escape law enforcement, telling LAPD Detective Tom Lange on the phone during the chase 'let the police know, you let them all know, I wasn't running.'
However cops later found $9,000 cash, a fake goatee and mustache, and Simpson's passport and gun inside the car.
Cowlings eventually drove the car into Simpson's driveway where he surrendered to waiting police.
Represented by a legal 'Dream Team', Simpson's trial was also televised and lasted 11 months.
He was acquitted by a jury in a controversial verdict that split the country along racial lines.
However, in a civil trial, Simpson was unanimously found responsible for the wrongful deaths of the two victims and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the Goldman and Brown families.
The white Bronco used in OJ Simpson's infamous car chase (above)
