More Allegations About O.J. Emerge In ESPN Series

In 1995, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Over 20 years later, the case continues to captivate the country — just two months after Ryan Murphy's series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story concluded, ESPN's O.J.: Made In America will premiere on June 11. Unlike Murphy's series, Made In America will touch on many aspects of Simpson's life both before and after the trial of the century. In fact, Nicole Brown Simpson's name isn't brought up until the end of the premiere episode. Although she's only mentioned briefly, an allegation accompanies it — as seen in the docuseries, Nicole's friend, David LeBon, claims Simpson was "forceful" on the couple's first date.

The prosecution presented evidence of domestic violence in the relationship at the murder trial, but has this particular claim been previously reported? Although it doesn't appear that it got a lot of press, the answer is yes. In 1995, Sheila Weller published a book titled Raging Heart: The Intimate Story of the Tragic Marriage of O.J. and Nicole Brown Simpson. According to People, the book was "written with the cooperation of the Brown family" and, as the title indicates, focused on the turbulent relationship between the couple. While testifying in his 1997 civil trial for the deaths of Brown Simpson and Goldman, Simpson denied ever beating his wife, as reported by The New York Times.

In the book, Weller describes LeBon as an advertising photographer who was a longtime, platonic friend of Nicole's. They had known each other since high school and were rooming together in a studio apartment when she first met Simpson. Weller went on to claim that:

"David had helped her decide what clothes to wear on her first date with O.J., and like a protective older brother, he had been waiting up for her when she got home that night. From Nicole's appearance at the end of that date, David LeBon had suspected that O.J. Simpson had violent tendencies."

The People article states that, according to LeBon, the zipper of her jeans was ripped and the button had been torn off. He claimed that when he asked her about it, Nicole told him that Simpson had torn her pants because he was impatient to have sex. It doesn't appear this claim surfaced during the trial, but LeBon and his wife, D'Anne, were on a list of potential witnesses, as reported by The Los Angeles Times. According to the outlet, both D'Anne and David claimed they overheard Simpson say "I loved you too much" over his ex-wife's coffin during her funeral.

Although the alleged interaction between LeBon and Nicole Brown Simpson hasn't been verified or received a lot of attention in the past, it's certainly chilling to hear.