O.J. Simpson is turning heads with recent comments he made about the "real" killer of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994. Though Simpson was charged for the double homicide, he was controversially acquitted after what had been dubbed the Trial of the Century. He has since served nine years in prison on unrelated charges stemming from an incident in Las Vegas, but Simpson has been free on parole since 2017.

In a new interview with The Athletic, O.J. Simpson said that he refuses to visit Los Angeles, and he has the most peculiar reason for it. Still insisting upon his innocence, the Naked Gun star says he's worried about running into the real murderer of Brown and Goldman, thus potentially putting himself in danger. Simpson also says he has a suspect in mind he wants his lawyers to investigate, but alleges he can't speak about it publicly.

"I have trouble with L.A.," Simpson explained. "People may think this is self-serving, but I might be sitting next to whoever did it. I really don't know who did this."

He added: "I figured eventually somebody would confess to something, you know? I had one suspect I told my lawyers to look at. I still think he might be involved, but I can't talk about it."

While many would prefer to see Simpson spending the rest of his days behind bars, the former Hertz spokesman boasts that he now lives a "good life" following his release a few years back. He had previously been convicted and sentenced to 33 years in prison on charges of armed robbery and kidnapping. After serving the minimum nine years before parole was possible, Simpson was released on parole in 2017. He will be on parole until late 2022.

"How many Americans, even today, wouldn't like to live my life?" Simpson is quoted as saying. "I don't work. I play golf four or five days a week. I go out to dinner a couple of nights with friends. People want to buy me drinks. I'm always taking pictures with people. Ladies hug me."

Even so, things haven't been perfect for O.J. Simpson. He recently claimed to have had a battle with COVID-19 that got so bad, he had even begun discussing final arrangements with his children. Simpson alleges that he "almost couldn't get out of bed" because the symptoms were so bad, and he thought he "might be near the end." He might be grateful for his survival, but not everyone else is quite so thrilled.

"Out of all the people who've passed away from COVID, what a shame he wasn't one of them," Ron Goldman's father Fred said told the New York Daily News. "I certainly don't think he deserves any sympathy. He's alive, he's free. He can do anything he wants. Everything my son can't do. Honestly, the only thing that strikes a chord with me is that he didn't think about death before. I think about his death all the time. I can think of no one better suited to be underground."

Simpson was acquitted at his criminal trial, but lost a subsequent civil suit filed against him by the families of the victims. To date, he has paid very little of the judgment. In 2007, Simpson wrote a book with the help of a ghostwriter called If I Did It, describing how he would have committed the murders if it had been him. Needless to say, most people don't seem to be buying his recent remarks about fearing the "real" killer in Los Angeles. The interview with Simpson can be read at The Athletic.