Of all the people who got thrust into international infamy as a result of the highly publicized
O.J. Simpson trial, Kato Kaelin was among the most interested in maintaining his sudden
public profile.
Kaelin was the houseguest who helped piece together a timeline of events on the night
Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered.
And thanks to his shaggy blonde hair and willingness to appear on camera, he became a household
name overnight during the trial's coverage and beyond.
Even though he might not be taking his name to the bank quite as well as Simpson lawyer
Robert Kardashian's kids, he's certainly working hard to make sure the world doesn't forget
his hand in the investigation.
"I'm still dating the same woman I met during the trial
"Wow."
"… Juror no.
7.
No, I'm kidding."
Here's what Kato Kaelin has been up to lately.
Turning to TV
At the time of O.J.'s trial, Kaelin was an aspiring actor and television personality.
So for him, there really was some truth to the old saying that any press is good press
… even if it involves as many gory details as it did.
"The minute I walked out of the trial everybody knew my name and it was sort of an excitement also
like oh my god I'm like instantly famous."
He has since continued his effort to secure screen time by appearing on reality and game
shows like The Weakest Link, as well as scripted series.
He also made cameos in movies like BASEketball and the TV show Tosh.0 and even sang the National
Anthem in the pilot episode of Baskets.
That's quite a filmography for a former freeloader.
Branding a lifestyle
In the spirit of embracing his pop-culture status, Kaelin co-founded his own clothing
company and named it, appropriately enough, Slacker Wear.
He also nabbed a gig in 2016 co-hosting a sports talk show called Sports Haters.
Despite the show's title and his last high-profile experience with an athlete, he doesn't actually
hate sports.
He explained the show by saying, "We don't hate sports.
We hate the stupid stuff that goes with it.
Like back-to-back Viagra commercials and athletes who thank God for the game-winning touchdown
because clearly God hated the other team.
You know the stuff you're screaming at the TV?
We actually say it on TV!"
That tell-it-like-it-is stance might seem strange to those who remember Marcia Clark
having him declared a hostile witness, but who's counting?
Talking about the trial
The O.J. Simpson trial has always been a memorable moment in American legal history, but the
story has become even more prevalent in recent years with the production of acclaimed series
like The People Vs. O.J. Simpson and O.J.: Made in America.
Perhaps it goes without saying, but Kato Kaelin has made sure to remain a part of that conversation
too.
For starters, he's since come through with his own version of a verdict for his former
beneficiary benefactor by saying:
"If I saw OJ today I would say OJ did you do it?"
"And what do you think the answer is?"
"What I think he would say?
I think He would say "Absolutely not.'"
"I feel that he is guilty."
He's also spoken out against the way that he was portrayed on some of the dramatized
versions of events.
While he's happy to credit Billy Magnussen for being a good actor, he wasn't a fan of
his work on American Crime Story's version of the Simpson trial.
"His choice of how he plays me is incorrect.
And um, I really wish I had a chance to meet him beforehand."
And it wasn't just the deer-in-headlights look he was given on the show that bothered
Kaelin, either.
He was also disappointed that he wasn't shown talking to O.J. about the infamous backpack
that went missing the night of the murder.
"I run up to the front to say 'Hey I'll get that bag' and O.J. says, "No, don't touch
that bag!' that's the bag that's never been found"
Houseguest to homeowner
When we first got to know Kaelin during O.J.'s trial, he was depicted as an opportunist who
not only accepted free lodging from an abusive athlete but who was obviously trying to capitalize
on the instant fame that he received from the media circus of that moment.
Even two decades later, though, that characterization hasn't changed where the public is concerned.
Kaelin has revealed that he still suffers some severe backlash on social media as a
result of that image.
"I was Kato the character.
Still to this day I can't believe some of the hate that can come over social media.
If I work, they say you're capitalizing, still to this day.
If I don't, then I'm a bum."
Sometimes, those comments can become pretty threatening in nature, too.
"I had a radio show and in my radio show there would be constant death threats to me."
However, there is one thing about his life that's very different than it used to be:
He's got his own home.
And, yes, he's beating everyone to the inevitable punchline about that fact, too.
"My goal actually, one day in life is to have someone live behind me.
So…
Never change, Kato.
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