"I had one fight in my adult life. I had the famous '89 fight with Nicole, which she admits that she initiated the physical part"
About this Quote
“I had the famous ’89 fight” turns a domestic violence allegation into a piece of pop-history branding, as if notoriety is just another chapter in celebrity lore. “Famous” doesn’t just neutralize the seriousness; it re-centers the story on his public image, not her harm. He also chooses “fight,” a word that implies mutuality, over “assault,” which implies responsibility. That single substitution changes the moral math: a fight is something that happens between two people; an assault is something done to someone.
Then comes the pivot: “which she admits that she initiated the physical part.” It’s a lawyerly sentence wearing the costume of plain speech. “Admits” suggests confession and guilt; “initiated” implies sequence and therefore justification. He’s not exactly denying violence - he’s arguing about who started it, as if the first shove settles the case. The subtext is strategic: if she “started” it, his actions become reaction, even inevitability.
In the wider context of Simpson’s post-trial media afterlife, the quote reads like a rehearsal of control. It’s less about what happened in 1989 than about disciplining the narrative: turn messy, frightening reality into a tidy, debatable “he said/she said,” and hope the audience mistakes balance for truth.
Quote Details
| Topic | Husband & Wife |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Simpson, O. J. (2026, January 16). I had one fight in my adult life. I had the famous '89 fight with Nicole, which she admits that she initiated the physical part. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-had-one-fight-in-my-adult-life-i-had-the-famous-105262/
Chicago Style
Simpson, O. J. "I had one fight in my adult life. I had the famous '89 fight with Nicole, which she admits that she initiated the physical part." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-had-one-fight-in-my-adult-life-i-had-the-famous-105262/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I had one fight in my adult life. I had the famous '89 fight with Nicole, which she admits that she initiated the physical part." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-had-one-fight-in-my-adult-life-i-had-the-famous-105262/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.





