On Friday, Vanessa Bryant got emotional while testifying on how she learned that first responders leaked pictures of the crash that killed her husband, NBA player Kobe Bryant, and teenage daughter in January 2020.
Bryant’s three-hour testimony comes on the eighth day of her invasion of privacy trial in Los Angeles federal court. She has been present every day of the trial; sometimes crying and stepping out of the courtroom when triggering testimony or evidence was shared.
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Bryant wore black in addition to large sunglasses. Apparently, Bryant sobbed so hard on the stand her body shook and that she started hiccuping and even gasping for breath. She explained to the court that when she learned in a Los Angeles Times story that the photos were being passed around, she immediately ran out of her home so her other daughters wouldn’t see her in tears.
“I felt like I wanted to run down the block and scream,” Bryant said. “I can’t escape my body. I can’t escape what I feel.” She also stated that she felt “blindsided, devastated, hurt and betrayed” by the county employees who leaked the photos. However, Bryant said she herself has not seen the pictures.
“I don’t ever want to see these photographs,” she solemnly stated. “I want to remember them as they were.” Bryant remains fearful that the pictures will eventually be posted on the internet.
“I live in fear everyday of seeing on social media and having these images pop up,” she said.
Previously, Los Angeles County agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a case brought by two families whose relatives also died in the same Jan. 26, 2020, crash. However, Bryant and Chester—whose wife and teenage daughter died in the crash—refused to settle.
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