Kobe Bryant’s Widow Vanessa Praises Fan’s Tattoo Tribute to Late Husband and Daughter Gianna

Vanessa Bryant continues to mourn the loss of husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant following their deaths in a helicopter crash last month. In a new Instagram post, Bryant, 37, shared a photo of a fan’s enormous tribute tattoo dedicated to the late Los Angeles Lakers legend and the 13-year-old.

The massive, colorful tattoo covers the fan’s entire left calf, and depicts the image of Kobe and Gianna smiling next to each other, side by side, above their respective basketball jerseys and the black courtside chairs that Staples Center left vacant for them following their deaths. “Just came across this. So amazing,” Bryant captioned the photo. “What a BEAUTIFUL tribute to my Gigi and Kobe. Kobe would never want to outshine our baby girl. Thank you for honoring them together.”

She tagged the fan who first shared the image, as well as their tattoo artist, and wrote, “This is really beautiful.”

Along with hundreds of gushing fans, the tattoo artist, Steve Butcher, commented on Bryant’s post thanking her for putting a spotlight on his work. “Thank you so much Vanessa I’ve always wanted to be able to show you guys my work and show you how much love everyone has for you and your family!” Butcher wrote.

Bryant has shared several fan tributes dedicated to Kobe and Gianna, including murals, drawings and photos. Last month, she shared a photo of a tattoo Kobe’s sister, Sharia Washington, got in honor of her brother and niece. The large tattoo covered her entire left shoulderblade and consisted of a mamba snake in the shape of an infinity symbol surrounding Kobe and Gianna’s basketball numbers, 24 and 2, respectively.

Earlier this week, Bryant shared another post dedicated to Washington, this time for her birthday on Thursday. In the caption of the throwback photo, which showed Vanessa and Kobe’s daughter Bianka alongside Washington, Vanessa wrote, “Happy birthday, Sharia. Love you.”

Bryant is in the midst of a wrongful death lawsuit against Island Express, the company that owns the helicopter that crashed on Jan. 26, killing Kobe, Gianna and the seven other victims on board. Bryant also shared a statement from her attorney last month in response to reports that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies took photos 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 from Bryant’s attorney, Gary Robb, read. “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.”