NEWSVanessa Bryant Calls Out Evan Rachel Wood For Labeling Kobe Bryant A 'Rapist' After His Death
Not having it! Vanessa Bryant called out Evan Rachel Wood for tweets she made after Kobe Bryant passed away in which she alleged that the NBA player was a rapist.
"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," Wood tweeted on January 26, 2020.
However, Vanessa only became aware of the tweets more than a year later and took to her Instagram Story to address them on Saturday, February 27.
"Your false, insensitive, defamatory and slanderous tweet on 1/26/20 is vile and disturbing to say the least," Vanessa wrote over a screenshot of the tweet. "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."
The same message was also sent to Abigail Disney. "The man was a rapist. Deal with it," the film producer said at the time.
Wood’s tweet was met with criticism at the time. "How f**king dare you?" Kyla Pratt responded. Vanessa thanked Pratt over the weekend.
Wood clarified later that her tweet was "not a condemnation or a celebration" but "a reminder that everyone will have different feelings and there is room for us all to grieve together instead of fighting. Everyone has lost. Everyone will be triggered, so please show kindness and respect to all." However, she has since deleted her tweets but not yet commented publicly on Vanessa’s post.
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In 2003, Kobe was accused of sexual assault by a hotel employee in Colorado. However, the charges were dropped after the woman who was 19 years old at the time refused to testify. Then in 2005 the woman brought a civil case against him, which was settled out of court.
"I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident. I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year," Kobe said in 2004.
"Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did.
"After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter."
Kobe and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, lost their lives in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
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Earlier this month, Wood alleged that her ex Marilyn Manson "horrifically abused" her.
"I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission," she said. "I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent."
Manson denied the allegations from Wood and several other women, calling them "horrible distortions of reality."
