Kobe Bryantwas bigger than basketball,and his deathis reverberating across the 2020 Grammys red carpet.
E! Live from the Red Carpet hosts Ryan Seacrest andGiuliana Rancichonored Bryant at the start of the show, just hours afterhe and eight otherstragically died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Bryant was 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna was also on board.
Standing on the red carpet outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Bryant played for two decades as a Los Angeles Laker, the co-hosts said the news was “devastating.”
Mike Coppola/Getty; Leon Bennett/Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty
Rancic, 45, gave her condolences to Bryant’s wife, Vanessa.
“My heart is so heavy today, like so many people watching this in the United States but all around the world. And as a mother, as a wife, as a human, my heart goes out to Vanessa, and their family tonight, first and foremost,” themom to 7-year-old Dukesaid.
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Seacrest said that he recently spoke to Bryant, who won an Academy Award last year for his short filmDear Basketball.
“It’s unthinkable, this is a man in a family that we’ve gotten to know over the years, we’ve seen him play here before, he was on the phone with me a few months ago talking about the love of being a father, talking about his daughters. So pridefully, and I think that so many artists here tonight will be thinking about this, and wanting to share their stories,” Seacrest said.
Several Grammy attendees have expressed their sadness at Bryant’s death, both on social media and on the red carpet, and Seacrest said he expects more tonight.
“You know he was a music lover and very close to many in the industry coming down his carpet tonight who will definitely share their thoughts,” he said.
Tune in to the 62nd annualGrammy Awardsat 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS.
source: people.com
