Vanessa Bryant Opens Up About Finding Out About Kobe And Gianna's Death Online

It's been almost two years now, since the world lost NBA legend, Kobe Bryant, and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, in a helicopter crash. This occurred back in January 2020, in Calabasas, CA.

Even in present day, many fans of Kobe and Gianna are still having difficulties processing the reality that the two are still not here anymore. It's been tough on Vanessa Bryant as well, who was Kobe's wife, and Gianna's mother. Fans have admired her strength throughout these past 21 months, and continue to show her overwhelming support, on social media.

Currently, Vanessa is suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, for negligence and invasion of privacy, regarding the deaths of Kobe and Gianna. This was as a result of members of this department going on to share graphic photos, of the initial helicopter crash.

In a recent deposition, Vanessa also revealed how she had to find out about losing Kobe and Gianna, via social media, per BBC. She explained how she began to receive alerts on her phone, from social media, which kept saying "RIP Kobe." That came after original reports which stated that five people may have survived the crash. This information was passed on to her, by her assistant. Nine people went on to lost their lives, in total.

"I was holding onto my phone, because obviously I was trying to call my husband back, and all these notifications started popping up on my phone, saying 'RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe'," Vanessa explained. "My life will never be the same without my husband and daughter."

Vanessa also went on to reveal that she went on to keep the clothes that Kobe and Gianna had on, during that horrific crash. She also explained that the condition that the clothes were in, symbolized how bad the crash was, and that authorities were wrong, for sharing the photos, of the scene.

"And if their clothes represent the condition of their bodies, I cannot imagine how someone could be so callous and have no regard for them or our friends, and just share the images as if they were animals on a street."

In the midst of Vanessa's lawsuit against the LA County Sheriff's Department, things took a very unusual turn, last week. She was reportedly ordered to undergo a psych evaluation. This was done in order to prove that Vanessa did in fact go through emotional distress, due to the crash site photos being leaked.

LA County filed a motion, and claimed in a statement that this was “necessary to evaluate the existence, extent and nature of Plaintiffs’ alleged emotional injuries.” They also claim that it wasn't the leaked photos to create the emotions that Vanessa suffered, and it was that the crash in general, did this to her. Vanessa's legal team ended up responding, and stated that these are “scorched earth discovery tactics designed to bully Plaintiffs into abandoning their pursuit of accountability."

"Apparently, in the County’s estimation, top officials should be shielded from providing any testimony, but the victims should not only withstand the emotional toll of a full-day deposition, but also submit to an eight-hour involuntary psychiatric examination simply because they had the audacity to demand accountability," said LA County, in their statement.