America’s most famous houseguest has landed a new gig capitalizing on his notoriety gained during the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
Kato Kaelin is the news spokesperson for GuestHouseRent.com.
Kaelin, who lived in the guest house at Simpson’s property at the time of the 1994 murder of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, is featured in a new commercial released this week.
The release is seemingly timed to capitalize on the publicity surrounding the former NFL star’s Thursday parole hearing related to his 2008 conviction on 12 counts, including armed robbery and kidnapping, for a 2007 incident in a Las Vegas hotel room involving memorabilia Simpson claimed had been stolen from him.
The parole board voted unanimously to grant Simpson a conditional early release.
Kaelin’s comedic video, which was published on the company’s website, shows Kaelin lounging in a bathrobe, floating in a pool, seated in a yoga pose, and eating microwave popcorn as he extolls the benefits of renting a guest house.
“I am the guest house expert,” Kaelin says with a smirk.
According to a 1994 People magazine profile published after the murders, Brian “Kato” Kaelin, now 58, met Nicole Brown Simpson in Aspen, Colorado in 1992. The two became friends, and Kaelin eventually moved in to the guest house of her Los Angeles rental home, paying $500 monthly rent, which was discounted when he babysat her young children, Sydney and Justin.
When Nicole Brown Simpson later purchased a condo, she originally wanted Kaelin to move in as an on-site occasional babysitter. However, O.J. Simpson offered Kaelin the use of his guest house, free of charge, at his Rockingham Avenue property in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles.
Kaelin’s friends told People that rumors of an alleged affair between Kaelin and Nicole Brown Simpson were untrue.
“There was nothing sexual going on. She had more of an attraction to him than he did to her,” screenwriter Frank Cronan claimed.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Kaelin, a struggling actor, became a minor witness for the prosecution in Simpson’s 1995 double murder trial, during which he claimed he could not account for his host’s whereabouts between 9:36 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Investigators believed the murders occurred between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
The house guest gained fame during the trial for his relaxed “slacker” demeanor and long blond hair.
Feature photo: Associated Press
