THE ‘AUDACITY’

Vanessa Bryant Denies Kicking Mom Out of Home After Kobe’s Death

Her mother, Sofia Laine, claimed in a tearful Univision interview that Bryant had evicted her.

Vanessa Bryant denied allegations from her mother, Sofia Laine, that she’d kicked Laine out of the family home and taken away her car. In a tearful interview with Spanish-language TV network Univision, Laine said she’d been a source of support for her daughter and remaining three grandchildren since Kobe Bryant and 14-year-old Gianna died in a helicopter crash in January. “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,” Bryant said in a statement to La Gorda y La Flaca, the show on which Laine spoke out. Kobe’s widow also said Laine had purposefully made it look like she didn’t have any financial support, removing her diamonds and apartment furniture. Vanessa Bryant also disputed her mother’s support claim, saying “she has not been physically present or emotionally supportive” as Bryant and her three children adjust to life without Kobe or Gianna.