Kobe Bryant's Oscar Nomination Clouded by Past Sexual Assault Allegation

Former NBA star Kobe Bryant recently received an Oscar nomination but that was quickly clouded by past sexual assault allegations against the athlete that have resurfaced.

On Tuesday, Bryant's short film Dear Basketball picked up an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film. Back in 2003, Bryant was formally charged with rape, after a 19-year-old Colorado woman claimed he assaulted her, as reported by TMZ.

People quickly took to social media to point this out after his Oscar nomination was revealed.

"If Kobe Bryant is getting an Oscar nomination, are we going to point out that he raped a woman in 2003? I ask because Hollywood has recently been acting like it grew a conscience on these things," one person tweeted.

"That's OSCAR NOMINATED Accused Rapist Kobe Bryant to you," another user quipped.

Bryant's nomination comes amid reports that James Franco, who has also been accused of sexual misconduct, did not receive an Oscar nomination that many expected him to get. There is no evidence that Franco's snub is necessarily related to the allegations, but it is somewhat coincidental.

While he maintained his innocence throughout the much publicized past legal matter, Bryant did issue an apology at one point, saying, "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."

"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," he continued.

"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," his statement concluded.

Bryant has not addressed the new criticisms against him but did tweet out excitement about his short film picking up the nomination.

"What?? This is beyond the realm of imagination. It means so much that the [The Academy] deemed [Dear Basketball] worthy of contention. Thanks to the genius of [Glen Keane] & John Williams for taking my poem to this level. It's an honor to be on this team," Bryant wrote.