When the news surfaced on Sunday morning that retired NBA star Kobe Bryant was killed in a tragic helicopter crash, the world reacted with sorrow. Fans, players, coaches, and citizens alike were heartbroken to hear that Bryant had died, and they voiced this on social media. Evan Rachel Wood, however, greatly angered fans with a tweet on Sunday.
“I am heartbroken for Kobe’s family,” Wood wrote on Twitter. “He was a sports hero. He was also a rapist. And all of these truths can exist simultaneously.”
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As expected, this post was met with considerable feedback as thousands reacted to Wood. They wanted to make it very clear that this was a “disgusting post” and that they couldn’t believe that this statement had been made at such a vulnerable time of loss.
Wood ultimately deleted the tweet, but that did not end the story. Another post was made with an added line of text reading: “What has happened is tragic.” The rest of the tweet remained the same.
Some of the fans took a far more profanity-laden approach while responding to Wood, but the overwhelming majority made it very clear that they were fired up and extremely angry.
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Nows not the time
โ ุญุณู (@NoiBoixos) January 26, 2020
When Wood posted this tweet on Sunday, there was a mixture of reactions. A few people agreed with the comment and wanted to mention legal issues from early in Bryant’s career. Others did not agree with this decision to post on Twitter.
In fact, there were several fans on social media that didn’t believe this was the time to mention this case. Simply adding text about “a tragic event” was not enough in their eyes.
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You should’ve kept this deleted. Have some empathy. People have died here, it’s not the time to push your agenda
โ ๐.๐ข๐ฑ๐ (@EShy) January 26, 2020
With Wood posting this tweet, there were several asking about the mindset that led to this decision. They didn’t believe that this was the place and time to mention certain parts of Bryant’s life.
The fans of Bryant were very adamant about this point, telling Wood that the previously deleted tweet should have stayed that way. They didn’t understand why this statement was made on Sunday, and they felt that Wood should have simply said nothing.
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Iโm a huge fan of you, but now is really the time hun. A familyโs is grieving. A wife lost her husband. Children lost their father. If you donโt have anything nice to say itโs best not to say anything at all.
โ SarahBailey (@sarahbailey823) January 26, 2020
The tweet by Wood on Sunday was one that split the fanbase. Some responded to the actor by wholeheartedly agreeing with the statement being made. Others were astounded by this decision to post about legal issues from the past.
One person that responded actually is a fan of Wood, but that was being tested. They were simply shocked by the tweet and felt that it should have never been sent.
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I hope that if something ever happened to you, that someone doesnt find “dirt” on your like and post it hours after you pass.
โ vQ | StaySeeJ08 (@StaySeeJ08) January 26, 2020
True or not.
Completely tasteless, and unclassy.
Others also passed away in this accident. Not just him.
Show some respect to their families and friends
Was Wood’s tweet accurate? There was a debate about this old case following the Sunday post, which devolved into a case of “he said, she said.” However, there were others that didn’t want to discuss this legal case because they felt the timing of the tweet was downright awful.
As one person wrote on social media, they wanted Wood to think about a similar situation. Would someone post on social media about the actor’s life and find some “dirt” to mention?
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This says much more about what a hateful, insensitive person you are than it ever could about Kobe.
โ Hugh Michael Horace Dancy-Evans (@FakingDancy) January 26, 2020
There was a moment following Wood’s tweet in which Twitter exhaled. The previous post had been deleted, which they thought was a sign that this opinion would not be mentioned again. That situation changed, however, when the tweet was immediately posted with an added line of text.
For the users on social media, this tweet said much more about Wood than it did about Bryant. In fact, they even believed that this post made the actor look far worse.
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Deleted the original and redrafted it… that means multiple times you had the opportunity to think โmaybe I should do literally ANYTHING else other than tweet this fire takeโ and you went ahead with it smh
โ Ryan Maples (@GUSMAPLES) January 26, 2020
How much thought went into the tweet on Sunday? There are some that believed Wood had a few moments to consider the specific statement prior to sending that initial tweet. However, it was later posted with some additional text. This meant that Wood thought about the statement a second time prior to posting.
In the eyes of Twitter users, this should have been a sign that Wood should have simply left the statement deleted. Having it posted once again just angered the fans and made them rethink supporting the actor.
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You couldnโt even wait a day to do this?
โ Chris McKeever (@TheRealMcKeever) January 26, 2020
Iโm sure you think by posting this youโve demonstrated your imagined virtue, but youโve really only demonstrated a dark and twisted soul.
The statement made by Wood was one that angered many fans on social media. Calling the tweet “disgusting” didn’t mean that they believed Bryant was innocent or that his accuser back in 2003 was telling the truth. What they wanted to make clear is that they simply thought the timing was awful and that Wood should have deleted the tweet.
“PERFECT TIMING,” another user added to the conversation. “I mean he didn’t just die with his 13-year-old daughter or anything.”
