Vanessa Bryant, the widow of Kobe Bryant, shared a new photo on Instagram Sunday with their eldest daughter, 17-year-old Natalia Bryant, who was all dressed up for her winter formal. Natalia posed in front of a mural showing her father and her sister, 13-year-old Gianna Bryant. Kobe and Gianna were killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 in Calabasas, California, along with seven other people.
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“[Heart] my babies. Natalia,” Bryant wrote in the caption, along with the hashtag, “winter formal.”
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In less than a half-hour, the post earned almost 1 million likes, a sign of the outpouring of support Bryant continues to receive. Hundreds of fans showed their support in the comments as well.
“It’s so good to see her smiling,” one fan wrote. “I can’t imagine your guys pain but this shows you guys are healing. Continue that journey, they will catch up with you eventually.”
“Pic gave me goosebumps,” another wrote.
“This warms my heart and at the same time saddens it,” another wrote. “Good to see you girls pushing through.”
The post was Bryant’s first on Instagram in a week. Back on March 1, Bryant shared a statement from her attorney Gary Robb in response to reports that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies took pictures of the crash site and shared them among themselves.
“Our client, Vanessa Bryant, is absolutely devastated by allegations that deputies from the Lost Hills Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department publicly disseminated photos from the helicopter crash site,” the statement reads. “Mrs. Bryant personally went to the Sheriff’s office on January 26th and requested that the area be designated a no-fly zone and protected from photographers.”
According to Robb, Bryan wanted to “protect the dignity” of all victims of the crash and Sheriff Alex Villanueva “assured” everyone he would take steps to protect the families’ privacy. The attorney went on to call the actions by the deputies “inexcusable and deplorable.” Bryant also praised the person who filed the online complaint that led to “exposing these acts of injustice, and for the choice to protect human dignity.”
On Monday, Villanueva said there are eight deputies involved in the case and all will be facing disciplinary action. The photos were also erased, according to Villanueva. The only agencies allowed to take photos of the scene were the coroner’s office and the NTSB.
Kobe, 41, and Gianna died on Jan. 26. The other victims were John and Kerri Altobelli and their Alyssa; Christina Mauser; Sarah Chester and daughter Payton; and pilot Ara Zobayan.
Photo credit: Getty Images
