Kato Kaelin Reflects on Life 30 Years Since the OJ Simpson Trial: The Kardashians, the Verdict and Finding Love (Exclusive)

Before that other double K-named star became famous, Kato Kaelin was one of the original celebrities who became celebrities by association rather than acting or other profession. For him, it meant being in the wrong place at the wrong time — infamy he turned into positivity as he went from being a houseguest to a household name. 

"I'm always smiling. Life is good right now," he told The Messenger, adding that he remains sensitive to the fact that his claim to fame (namely: being a houseguest of OJ Simpson and a witness in Simpson's trial, where the athlete was acquitted for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman) is related to the death of two people.

"I got famous for all the wrong reasons and I'm aware of it — but I've never forgotten the fact that two people, Ron [Goldman] and Nicole [Brown], should be the center of any story about the trial."

Fact vs fiction

Kaelin said one of the biggest public misunderstandings of him came from his 1995 testimony, in which he said he looked like "a deer in the headlights" when answering questions on the stand. He said his pauses weren't because he was trying to think up a lie, as some interpreted it was at the time: 

"I wanted to make sure I was answering questions correctly, so I hesitated and I paused. I'm thinking, ok, I had a review with the prosecutor's office. I don't remember this question. So I had that look, but that was because I was trying to be so honest."

Kaelin was portrayed by Billy Magnussen in FX's series The People V. OJ Simpson, a portrayal he didn't seem 100% pleased with at the time, telling The Hollywood Reporter, "I don’t agree with his choice of how he portrayed me, but that was his choice." However, he told The Messenger that he's happy with the show's casting.

"I actually think Billy was the perfect choice," he said, though he wishes the actor would have met with him first. "I heard from other people that everybody talked to the person [they were portraying]. I went to an acting academy and I was like, no matter what, I would still choose to talk to that person. But you can't fight something that's already out there. He's said so many nice things about me. I love that guy. I'm proud of [the portrayal]."

Where is Kato Kaelin now? Life after infamy: tough times and marital joy

Kaelin said that his wife Shengyi saw The People v. OJ in China before they'd ever met, but she still didn't know who he was.

"The day we met, she said, 'I saw your name was Kato, and there's a very popular show in China from Ryan Murphy with Billy Magnussen,' and she was explaining it to me. I said, 'That's me,' and she couldn't believe it. I told her, 'That's actually good.' It was refreshing that she had no idea."

Kaelin met his wife through a mutual friend who did business in Beijing. When Shengyi was planning to make the move to LA, the friend introduced them. "He said, 'You have the same fun personality as my friend Kato. You must meet him,'" Kaelin recalled.

They hit it off immediately. "We started texting each other and we had a date where we laughed all night. That led to another fun date, and another and another."

They connected over their sense of humor. "She is extremely funny. The thing I love about her most is her culture and that I'm getting into certain foods, but also as far as Hollywood, she could care less about acting or who anybody is. She's very grounded. She cares about what a person is really about."

The pair dated for three years before they wed last year, at fellow Wisconsin native and film director David Zucker’s house — but with such a high-profile, particularly in the 90s, one wonders how hard it must have been to date.

"It wasn't hard. For the first few years [after the trial] I was single and going to tons of events and traveling," so it wasn't the best time to be in a relationship he said. "When I was in a relationship, it always was for quite a long time."

One thing he never considered was leaving LA. "I stayed. I already had my set of great friends who humbled me and made me feel secure in who I was. Plus, I come from a pretty large family, and I went back to Wisconsin, where I'm from, quite a few times." 

Even with his feet planted pretty firmly in the ground, Kaelin said the threats and vitriol of strangers certainly put fear in him. He recalls that working at a radio station brought to mind radio host Alan Berg, who was shot dead in front of his home in 1984.

"I was working at a radio show, and they had to hire security. It was a really heated time in the 90s in LA," Kaelin said. "People had their mind made up of who I was or what their opinion was and sometimes they wanted to fight. I was a bit scared of what could happen because of the craziness." 

As for work: Kaelin will host a comic-con in Salem, Massachusetts from July 6-9. He also produces Ice Wars, a fighting on ice competition, which will take place in Cheyenne, Wyoming on July 15.

Where his relationships with the Simpsons and the Kardashians stand today

He's also aware that the rumors and stories that have circulated about him affected the actual relationships that were in place before the murders and trial. Though he used to help out with them often, he hasn't seen the Simpson kids, Sydney and Justin, since 1994. "I look at that as the past and everything now is about the light. If they were in Los Angeles, if they ever would reach out to me, I'd 100% meet with them. But that hasn't happened."

Things also became more distant with the Kardashians kids, who he'd see often at the house in the 90s. "I did a stand-up where I'd host some shows and I'd always make jokes involving them, but very, very, not mean-spirited." He described his most recent run-in with matriarch Kris Jenner on the “Hollywood Raw” podcast, which he said "turned out to be a very warm moment."

"Kris would go jogging with Nicole every single morning and they'd take the kids to school," Kaelin told The Messenger. "I saw how Kris would handle her kids and I would think 'These kids are gonna be groomed for success,' whatever it's gonna be — modeling or whatever it is. I was right. They are a billionaire corporation."

He added: "I haven't watched their show. I've caught a glimpse of it. I know enough about it though."

Fielding conspiracy theories, his thoughts on OJ and what's next

As for how the OJ trial would play out if it happened again in 2023, Kaelin thinks people would rush to judgment one way or another even faster than in the 90s: "Social media would play a big role, because there wasn't social media in '94. It was just starting. Now, people can be convicted, so to speak, just on someone's tweet."

Kaelin would also have been inundated with even more unsolicited OJ murder theories than he already was and still is.

"People come up to me in airports, and they have a theory. If I'm out in public, it'll happen every day," he said.

"Two days ago, a gentleman came up to me with his theory. He talked to me for seven minutes and I wanted to leave. But I thought, 'This guy is gonna think I'm a big asshole if I don't listen to his theory.'"

Kaelin has said before that he doesn't understand why people want so badly to feel part of a trial they have nothing to do with — but as many theories as he's heard, no one has ever been able to sway his own opinion: "I still think he's guilty."

Even after making that known, he was still offered to do reality shows with Simpson — which is completely out of the question, he said. "People have made offers, but nothing official from a production company," Kaelin clarified "Either way, I'd never, ever do that."

Another unofficial offer? Five thousand dollars for the Simpsons' guest house key. "I do have it. I haven't auctioned it yet, but believe it or not, many people have made an offer. The highest offer I've gotten, just from personal friends, is five grand." Kaelin thinks he could probably get a lot more than that.

It's just one of the ways he's taken a valued lesson from his late parents to heart: "When you get lemons, make lemonade. I've taken that and I've been consistently working and doing stuff." He said he has the same goals he had before the trial.

"My goal in life was acting. Many lawyers in the trial got their SAG cards, but that was always my thing," he said.

"Before I lost my parents, we always talked about life being like a semester at college. It goes by so fast. So you better enjoy it."