Vanessa Bryant has launched a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Alex Villanueva following months after the tragic helicopter crash in which her husband, Kobe, and daughter, Gianna, passed away.
As the 38-year-old widow alleged in the lawsuit, “no fewer than 8 sheriff’s deputies at the crash site pulled out their personal cell phones and snapped photos of the dead children, parents and coaches.
According to the complaint, “the deputies took these photos for their own personal gratification” whereas Sheriff Alex Villanueva allegedly attempted to cover it all up by informing his deputies that they wouldn’t face sanctions if they chose to delete the disturbing photos.
As Bryant has claimed, she lives in fear that the photos of her dead husband and daughter will one day leak and surface on the internet.
“Ms. Bryant feels ill at the thought of strangers gawking at images of her deceased husband and child, and she lives in fear that she or her children will one day confront horrific images of their loved ones online,” the lawsuit reads.
According to the complaint, the actions of the sheriff’s department came to light after a bartender overheard one of the deputies talking to a woman and showing her photos from the crash site in an alleged attempt to impress her.
The suit comes as the 38-year-old mother is facing a whirlwind of emotions caused by her own mother who accused Vanessa of kicking her out of her family home and taking away her car.
In a heated Univision interview, Vanessa’s mother, Sofia Laine, shed tears as she accused her daughter of evicting her from her home and taking away the belongings, including a car, that were previously at her disposal.
“She told me, ‘I need you to get out of this house.’ She also told me that she wanted her car and she wants it now,” Laine alleged.
Following the interview, Vanessa defended herself by saying that her mother “has not been physically present or emotionally supportive” in the months following Kobe and Gianna’s death.
As the 38-year-old claimed, her mother is “shedding tears for a car and a house that were not in her name.”
“My husband and daughter passed away unexpectedly, and yet my mother had the audacity to do a television interview speaking negatively of me while shedding tears for a car and a house that were not in her name,” Vanessa expressed in a statement to Univision.
She also went on to say that her mother “removed all her diamond jewelry” and emptied the apartment she had provided for her in order “to make it look like she doesn’t have my support.”
As Bryant insisted, her mother’s accusations are “painful” because she and Kobe had been providing for Laine for two decades.
“Contrary to previous reports, she has not been physically present or emotionally supportive of my daughters and me after my husband and daughter passed away,” the 38-year-old added.
“Now I see what is most important to my mother and it’s more than painful. I hope that everything that is coming out about our personal relationship ends here.”
Replaced!