Kobe Bryant: Vanessa's Statement Over Crash Scene Photos Draws out Emotional Response From Social Media

Michael Hein

03/01/2020 01:25 pm EST

Fans are feeling for Vanessa Bryant as news that photos from her husband's helicopter crash are out there. Bryant and her lawyers issued a statement on Sunday about the allegations that L.A. Sheriff's Department deputies have been circulating photos from the site where Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed last month. Fans are wondering what Vanessa will do next.

Bryant was reportedly "devastated" to hear that L.A. County Sheriff's Department deputies took photos at the site of the helicopter crash that killed her husband and her teenage daughter.

According to a statement by her lawyer, Gary C. Robb, she visited the sheriff's department's office on the day of the crash to specifically request that it be protected from photographers, so as not to allow gruesome imagery to emerge.

Still, on Thursday, a source told The Los Angeles Times that they had seen pictures from the crash. They claimed that a deputy in a bar had shown the images to them and other patrons. On Friday, the paper reported that the sheriff's department was investigating this matter internally, and ordering deputies to delete any copies of those photos.

For her part, Bryant spoke out harshly in a statement issued by her lawyers. Robb called for the deputies responsible for the existence and circulation of these photos to be punished to the fullest extent possible.

"First responders should be trustworthy. It is inexcusable and deplorable that some deputies from the Lost Hills Sheriff's substation, other surrounding substations and LAFD would allegedly breach their duty. This is an unspeakable violation of human decency, respect, and of the privacy rights of the victims and their families," he wrote.

So far, there is nothing to suggest that Bryant is seeking legal action against those deputies, but many fans misinterpreted her statement, thinking she was launching a lawsuit. Others simply shared their sympathies, though a few grumbled complaints. Here is what social media is saying about Bryant's statement issued on Sunday.

'Famous in the Wrong Way'

Many users were disgusted by the idea of people taking pictures at the helicopter crash site and then sharing them later on. They wrote that those folks were trying to "get famous," but going about it in the wrong way.

Tears

For many fans, just about any word from Bryant causes them to get emotional at this point. They were saddened by the thought of a grieving widow and mother forced to deal with this latest scandal, with the wound of her losses still so fresh.

Lawsuits

More than a few fans expressed their hope that Vanessa would sue the department, or at least the deputies responsible for the photos. Others simply assumed she was doing so, saying that it was the right thing to do against those who tried to profit off of her personal tragedy.

'Petty City'

Bryant's statement got a nod from the Instagram account "Petty City," apparently feeling that the deputies' behavior was tacky to say the least. There, commenters hoped to see all of the deputies responsible fired.

Curious

Some users admitted that they were curious to see the pictures now that they knew they existed. Many who confessed to this were shouted down on social media, however, and those that weren't were self-aware about their words.

Setting the Record Straight

The conversations got a bit circular in many cases, with users correcting each other on the content of Bryant's statement. Again, there was no mention of legal action against the department of any kind, Bryant and her lawyers only want to see the deputies responsible punished.

On the other hand, some users defended the deputies by saying the pictures might have been part of the investigation. For this, they were corrected, with others pointing out that showing the photos to strangers in bars was definitely not police protocol.

Sympathy

Finally, the overwhelming majority of people online were simply sharing their sympathy for Bryant during this unimaginable time. They wished that she did not have to grapple with her husband's fame while she was trying to mourn him as well as their daughter.

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