Kobe Bryant Celebration of Life: Photos of Beyonce, Lakers Star’s Children Reportedly Banned During Memorial

On Monday, all eyes were focused on the Celebration of Life memorial taking place at the Staples Center honoring the memory of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna Bryant. Along with many speakers, including his wife Vanessa Bryant and Michael Jordan, who was seen consoling her at one point during the memorial, various performers paid tribute to the late Los Angeles Lakers star.

Among those was Beyonce, who sang “Halo” and “XO” to kick off the ceremony. The catch, though, was that the photographers were told not to take any photos of her during her performance, according to Page Six. The story also notes that no photos were permitted to be taken of any of the Bryant children.

In regards to Beyonce having a no-photo clause, the report revealed that editors with the Associated Press and Getty Images were notified of the order beforehand.

“It is so offensive to Kobe’s family and the fans, Beyonce is so controlling of her image — she usually only allows approved selected images of her to be released — so no photographers at the Kobe memorial were allowed to take her picture,” one insider told Page Six. “Really, at a memorial? Not even the family of Michael Jackson did that.”

That same source went on to share how a member of the event staff set up camp in front of the photographers to ensure no pictures were snapped during her performance.

“This doesn’t help Beyonce’s image at all, it hurts her. It makes her look like a diva,” the insider continued. “The memorial wasn’t about her. The only shots of Bey that did emerge were screen grabs from TV.”

Along with Beyonce, other notable musical acts included Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys. None of them had reportedly had an issue with having photos of themselves taken during their respective performances.

While no photos were captured of Beyonce, videos of her renditions have been shared across social media.

The ceremony saw Vanessa Bryant deliver a heart-wrenching eulogy along with sharing stories her and her husband shared. One of those included Bryant’s romantic ways in which Vanessa revealed the many ways he would spoil her on their anniversaries.

She explained how on one particular anniversary, Kobe came home with a gift: the blue dress worn by Rachel McAdams on The Notebook along with the book prop.