Abigail Disney calls Kobe Bryant 'a rapist' and tells NBA star's fans to 'deal with it', gets slammed
Abigail Disney spoke out about the ongoing conversations about late basketball legend Kobe Bryant's legacy after he, his daughter Gianna, and seven others died in a fatal helicopter crash on Sunday, January 26.
Disney took to Twitter on Wednesday to share that Bryant was a rapist. In her tweet, she acknowledged that she had waited to speak about Bryant's death as she wanted time to pass before sharing her opinions. She was responding to a Washington Post article that included the 2003 rape case surrounding Bryant.
She wrote, "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." She faced a lot of backlash and criticism for her tweet from Bryant's fans and followers.
One such social media user shared, "Each of us is more than our worst deeds, and less than our best. People aren’t easily divided into good and bad. I won’t excuse or defend what KB may have done that night, but if you aren’t moved by the hundreds of stories of his generosity and kindness, you aren’t paying attn."
Another user added, "This is unfair and not ok. 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." A third chimed in, "Serious questions for you: Can people redeem themselves, reform, or are we forever to be judged by our past actions?"
Disney paid no heed to the users and did not respond to the comments. She did have the support of some users though who wrote in to express that she had done the right thing by shining light on the matter. One supporter shared, "Thank you I’ve been wondering about the deafening silence on this."
Another user shared, "Thank you, while this is tragic for all the passengers on board and his family. It’s hard to hear him being celebrated as a hero when he’s a rapist."
Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, 13 were amongst those nine killed in a fatal helicopter crash that took place on Sunday, January 26. He is survived by his 37-year-old wife Vanessa, and their daughters — 17-year-old Natalia, three-year-old Bianka and Capri, born in June 2019, and his parents and sisters Sharia and Shaya.