We Lost OJ, But Gained Tonya Harding On Twitter/X

This just feels like one of those moments where the content gods are paying us back after taking O.J. Simpson from our lives. 

None other than Tonya Harding popped up on Twitter Wednesday declaring that she's officially joining the social media platform that OJ used to dominate. There's definitely been a 1980s and 1990s pop culture void since OJ died from prostate cancer. Those of us who trolled OJ with comments about knifes and cutting have been bored. 

Our prayers were answered by the content gods when they delivered 54-year-old Harding on a silver platter straight from a forest looking like she just fed her chickens and plans to go into her kitchen to sip coffee and read up on vegan farming techniques. 

"Hey everyone, I am Tonya Harding and I am on X. Oh my god, I'm so excited. Happy new year. Join me there and let's chat it up," the former Olympic figure skater told her new audience. 

Not to toot my horn, but I was her 535 follower. Toot toot. 

As you'd expect, it didn't take long before someone dropped a lead pipe joke, which makes us all think back to when Harding's redneck goon squad launched an attack on America's sweetheart, Nancy Kerrigan in an attempt to prevent her from participating in the 1994 Olympic Winter Games. 

Millennials and Gen Z might not know that a hit was put on Kerrigan. A guy by the name of Shane Stant was hired to break Nancy's right knee. He told the FBI that Tonya's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly and her bodyguard, Shawn Eckhardt, had contracted him for the hit job. 

The story goes that Stant was originally going to pull the attack in Massachusetts, but Nancy somehow got away. Then, Stant jumps on a 20-hour bus ride to Detroit where, on January 6, 1994, he came out from behind a curtain and completed his assignment. 

The FBI determined that the attacker hit poor Nancy with a 21" telescopic baton on her right knee.

For those wondering, Kerrigan hasn't bee active on Twitter since 2023. She pops up time to time on Instagram where she'll be skating and smiling like the all-American queen that she is. 

How long will Tonya Harding stay on Twitter with lead pipe jokes being launched at her? Is this possibly the greatest business decision she's ever made?

If Tonya plays her cards right here, there's no question she can surpass the 5 million tweet impressions requirement that Elon's team has put in place for blue checkmarks to get paid on Twitter. 

The question becomes, will Harding eventually snap over the breaking a leg comments. O.J. did a great job of ignoring the comments about pulling a double murder. He went about his business bitching about Trump and his fantasy football teams. In return, he did huge impression numbers. 

This is up to Tonya. She better have a thick skin because based on the early results, the trolls are coming and it's going to be relentless. 

Buckle up. 

Written by
Joe Kinsey is the Senior Director of Content of OutKick and the editor of the Morning Screencaps column that examines a variety of stories taking place in real America. Kinsey is also the founder of OutKick’s Thursday Night Mowing League, America’s largest virtual mowing league. Kinsey graduated from University of Toledo.