Vanessa Bryant called out Us Weekly for posting a story about her struggling with depression while coping with the deaths of Kobe Bryant and her daughter Gianna. She posted on her Instagram story that the outlet published untrue information and used unreliable sources.
The mother had her life turned upside down when her husband and daughter were killed in a helicopter crash on January 26. Vanessa has received a lot of media attention and made several public statements since their sudden deaths.
On Wednesday, Us Weekly posted an article about the 37-year-old’s recent struggles with raising her children while mourning Kobe and Gianna. The story said she tried to stay positive but some days she became crippled with grief.
“One day she feels motivated, and the next she’s depressed and needs to take time for herself,” the outlet wrote. “There are moments when it all completely consumes her.”
They reported that Bryant had relied on support from high-profile friends such as Kelly Rowland, Gabrielle Union, and La La Anthony. A portion of the article that Bryant took exception with was when they said her sister “Sophie Laine” had been helping her.
“Through it all, Vanessa has been relying on her faith and her sister, Sophie Laine,” the outlet reported.
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The Los Angeles, California native noticed the story and, according to Total Pro Sports , took a screenshot to post to her Instagram story. Bryant highlighted the part about “Sophie Laine” and tagged the publication. She asked them to stop posting stories about her grieving family and said she had no idea who this person was.
“@usweekly – please stop. No story needed. Clearly we’re grieving. I don’t know who Sophie Laine is. My last name isn’t even Laine…’sources.’”
Bryant included another screenshot of the article which promoted more stories about the grieving mother and added a caption.
“Please stop,” she wrote.
As covered by Total Pro Sports , several of Bryant’s followers noticed the Instagram update and took to Twitter to blast the publication.
“US Weekly is so disgusting for posting articles about #VanessaBryant and how she’s coping. Let that woman grieve in PEACE,” one fan wrote.
“If @usweekly doesn’t leave Vanessa Bryant alone I stg. They’re so gross, she lost her husband and daughter,” another tweeted.
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Earlier this month, it was announced that the Los Angeles Lakers legend would be posthumously inducted into the basketball Hall Of Fame along with his peers Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. Vanessa became emotional when talking to ESPN about her late husband’s achievement.