Kobe's widow accuses the former 'True Blood' star of slander as she slams the actress over her year-old negative comments about the late basketball player.
- Mar 1, 2021
AceShowbiz - Vanessa Bryant called out Evan Rachel Wood on Instagram. Kobe Bryant's wife hit back at the "Mildred Pierce" actress over her unfavorable tweet about the late basketball player from a year ago following his tragic death in a fatal helicopter crash.
Back then, the former "True Blood" star brought up sexual assault allegations against Kobe as she weighed in on his passing. "What has happened is tragic," the actress wrote. "I'm heartbroken for Kobe's family. He was a sports hero. He was also a rapist. And all of these truths can exist simultaneously."
Now more than a year later, Vanessa hit back at Evan and accused her of defamation. "This just came to my attention," the NBA widow posted on her Instagram Story. "Your false, insensitive, defamatory, and slanderous tweet on 1/26/20 is vile and disturbing to say the least."
Insisting that Kobe was innocent, the 38-year-old mother of four went on, "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. YOU DON'T KNOW THE FACTS OF THE CASE."
Evan Rachel Wood was not the only person slammed by Vanessa over the negative comment about late Kobe.
The widow also fired back at filmmaker Abigail Disney over similar issues.
A few days after Kobe's death, the female director made these comments on her Twitter. "I haven't said anything about Kobe so far because I felt some time needed to pass before weighing in," she penned. "But yes, it's time for the sledgehammer to come out. The man was a rapist. Deal with it."
After taking aim at Evan and Abigail, Vanessa thanked actress Kyla Pratt and sent her love as the latter came to Kobe's defense following Evan's cutting remarks last year. "Evan," Kyla addressed the "Westworld" star. "We met as kids & I grew up in the same industry has you and have admired your work from afar these past few years. On camera and off. But this tweet? How f**king dare you?"
Neither Evan Rachel Wood nor Abigail Disney have responded to Vanessa Bryant.
Back in 2003, Kobe Bryant was accused of forcing himself on a 19-year-old hotel employee in Colorado. He denied the rape allegations, claiming the sex was consensual. The charges were eventually dropped after his accuser declined to testify against him. The woman later sued but agreed to a private settlement with the athlete.
The widow came to her late husband's defense only a week after Meek Mill seemingly disrespected the NBA star in his newly-leaked song. "And if I ever lack I'm going out with my choppa it be another Kobe/ S**t I can tell they ain't never know me," the rhymer rapped the insensitive lyrics.
The hip-hop star later personally reached out to Vanessa to apologize in private after she blasted him, "Dear @meekmill , I find this line to be extremely insensitive and disrespectful. Period. I am familiar with any of your music, but I believe you can do better than this."
