Getty Images Vanessa Bryant during her speech at Kobe Bryan's memorial service at the Staples Center.
Vanessa Bryant is speaking out against two people in the public eye that chose to post insensitive and “slanderous” tweets following the untimely, tragic death of her husband, Kobe Bryant.
On Saturday, February 27, Vanessa Bryant took to her Instagram stories to share two tweets; one from actress Evan Rachel Wood, and the other from film producer Abigail Disney. Bryant explained that these two tweets, both of which referred to Kobe Bryant as a “rapist,” had just been brought to her attention.
“What has happened is tragic. I am heartbroken for Kobe’s family. He was a sports hero. He was also a rapist. And all of these truths can exist simultaneously,” read Wood’s tweet. The tweet is no longer available, as Wood has deactivated her Twitter account.
“Your false, insensitive, defamatory, and slanderous tweet on 1/26/20 is vile and disturbing to say the least. Behavior like this is part of the reason why innocent Black men go to jail for crimes they didn’t commit. An accusation doesn’t make someone guilty,” Bryant wrote over a screenshot of the tweet. “You don’t know the facts of the case,” she added in all caps.
Bryant also shared a screenshot of the tweet from Disney.
“I haven’t said anything about Kobe so far because I felt some time needed to pass before weighing in. But yes, it’s time for the sledgehammer to come out. The man was a rapist. Deal with it,” the tweet reads. Disney also included a link to a Washington Post Op-Ed that detailed Kobe’s criminal case.
Bryant pasted the same message that she wrote on the post directed at Evan Rachel Wood on this one, simply changing the date to January 29.
For reference, Kobe Bryant was accused of rape back in 2003. According to the New York Times, he was never charged because his accuser “refused to testify.” Kobe was later sued by his accuser, and the two agreed on a settlement.
Here’s what you need to know:
Vanessa Bryant Shared Some of the Responses to the Aforementioned Tweets, Thanking People for Coming to Her Husband’s Defense
Bryant read some of the responses to the tweets that she shared with her 14.3 million Instagram followers. She seemed extremely grateful for the support that these people gave to her family while she was grieving an unthinkable loss.
“Evan. We met as kids and I grew up in the same industry [as] you, and have admired your work from afar these past few years. On camera and off,” wrote Kyla Pratt. “But this tweet? How f*cking dare you,” she added.
Bryant went on to share quite a few responses to Abigail Disney’s tweet.
“This is unfair and not okay. Feel how you will about him, but his wife lost her husband, his daughters lost their father. If you must go down this road, educate yourself fully on that situation first. You just may feel a bit differently,” read one of the responses.
Neither Evan Rachel Wood nor Abigail Disney have responded to Vanessa Bryant’s posts.
Vanessa Bryant Is Working to Get the Names of the Deputies Responsible for Leaking Kobe Bryant’s Crash Photos Public
According to the Los Angeles Times, there are four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who are believed to be responsible for leaking sensitive photos of the Kobe Bryant crash site. The privacy of those involved (not only the Bryant family, but the families of seven others) was violated, and Vanessa is working diligently to seek justice on their behalves.
“The lawsuit seeks damages for negligence and invasion of privacy, alleging deputies and firefighters took and shared photos of the children, parents and coaches who died in the Jan. 26, 2020, crash.”
This week, Vanessa Bryant has made a motion to have the names of those involved released. There has been a great amount of pushback on this as worry that internet will be able to access personal information about those involved, potentially putting their lives in danger.
“The sheriff’s department wants to redact the names of the deputies that took and/or shared photos of my husband, daughter, and other victims. They want their names to be exempt from the public. Not all law enforcement is bad. These specific deputies need to be held accountable for their actions, just like everyone else,” Vanessa wrote in a post on her Instagram stories, just after sharing the two tweets mentioned earlier in this article. She added the hashtag “#doublestandard” to the bottom.
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