'Teen Mom' star Cory Wharton called 'gross' for posing at Kobe Bryant’s memorial site
'Teen Mom' star Cory Wharton was slammed for being "gross" enough to pose at Kobe Bryant’s memorial site with a smile on his face, with his infant daughter balanced on his shoulders.
The 30-year-old was accused of visiting the memorial site simply for clout and plastering phtos and videos from the site on his Instagram page for some “likes and views." Kobe, his daughter Gianna, and seven others had been traveling to Kobe's Mamba Academy for a practice session when their helicopter crashed due to foggy conditions in January 2020. After two years, Cory decided to visit the site during a “nice morning hike” with his girlfriend Taylor Selfridge and their 1-year-old daughter, Mila, on Friday, October 1. He wore his number eight Lakers jersey, in honor of Kobe and carried Mila strapped to his chest up the mountain toward the location of the site.
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'Gross, even by your standards, Cory'
The whole memorial is decorated with hats, flowers and other mementos from fans to show their love for the legendary basketball player. After learning this, the 'Teen Mom' star admitted they “should’ve brought flowers,” but apparently did not have any idea if others had done so. Cory also share a video from the crash site where he talked about the event and those involved, captioning it: “Disclaimer: If I say anything that is incorrect sry, heart goes out to all the family affected.”
Later he uploaded smiling photos of himself and his daughter posing at the site, in front of the memorial. “Today we got a chance to go on a hike and visit Kobe crash site,” he wrote alongside the snaps. “You know we had to pay our homage though to the Black Mamba” he wrote in the caption. While some were offended by his clout chasing, others took issue with his caption.
"Kobe’s Memorial sounds a lot better than crash site," one of them said on his Instagram post. "His wife asked that no one share pictures of the memorial site," another wrote. A third noted, "Idk man, some things you just keep to yourself." One more wrote, "Glad you paid your respects but just remember, Kobe and Gigi weren't the only ones who died tragically that day." The next remarked, "Wow this is extremely disrespectful. Paying your respects is one thing, but smiling and doing a peace sign in front of where 8 people (including a little girl) died is in bad taste…" A commenter said, "Its a YIKES for me, dawg. Smiling and posing at a spot where people literally died? Gross, even by your standards, Cory."
The post also found its way to Reddit, where Cory was similarly pelted with negative comments. “This is f**king gross,” one upset fan said on Reddit. Another wrote: “Very odd, and to document on IG is even stranger” A third commented: “Issa no for me. Cory’s a weird one.” Others called it “sad” that he would post these pictures on social media for “likes and views” and called the whole thing “morbid” and a “bit strange.”
'You did it with respect and kindness'
However, not everyone took an issue with his posts as some looked at it from a fan's perspective. "I hate to say this as a Kobe fan myself but this is no different from visiting the site where someone got into a car crash or when late celebrities have their last worn items on display or for sale . It’s nothing wrong with him going there that’s a normal way to pay respect. Stop picking and choosing what people can make into a memorial," one of them said, while another noted, "Kudos to you sharing a moment that many wish they could themselves. You did it with respect and kindness although recognition of the other victims should be acknowledged too. it was a sad day for many."
Another person reacted with, "Love it your the best..Kobe an GiGi Forever.." One more said, "I know how much you looked up to him Cory, I glad you guys got to pay your respects." Another noted, "This is dope. Thank you for sharing! RIP KOBE & GG. And the others that was in the plane."