Vanessa Bryantis accusing her mother of trying to “extort a financial windfall” from her family after husbandKobe Bryant’s untimely death, through a new lawsuit.
“Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant’s promises did not see the light of day as he is now deceased, and Vanessa Bryant took each and every step she could to void and cancel all of Kobe Bryant’s promises made to [Laine]. Vanessa Bryant did not intend to honor any of the Bryants' representations, agreements and promises at any stage.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, Vanessa — who also lost 13-year-old daughter Gianna in the same helicopter crash that killed her husband and seven other victims — claims her mother is “continuing to try and find ways to extort a financial windfall from our family.”
“I have supported her for nearly 20 years, and she was never my or Kobe’s personal assistant, nor was she a nanny,” says Vanessa, who is also mom to daughtersNatalia, 17,Bianka, 4, andCapri Kobe, 18 months. “I have always been a stay-at-home mother and my husband and I were our daughters' full-time caregivers.”
Vanessa Bryant.John Salangsang/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
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She adds, “Contrary to what she’s saying, I haven’t left my children’s side since the accident except to visit the cemetery to make arrangements.”
Vanessa says even after her mother claimed in an interview with Univision back in September that Vanessa forced her out of a family home, as well as made her return a car she used — aninterview the widow slammed as “beyond hurtful”— Vanessa says she was still financially providing for Laine.
“Earlier this year, I was looking for a new home for her and, a week later, she went on television and gave an interview disparaging our family and making false accusations while living rent-free in a gated apartment complex in Newport Coast,” claims Vanessa. “Even after that betrayal, I was willing to provide my mother with monthly support for the rest of her life and that wasn’t good enough.”
John Salangsang/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
“She instead contacted me through intermediaries (contrary to what she claims, my phone number hasn’t changed) and demanded $5 million, a house and a Mercedes SUV,” Vanessa alleges. “Because I did not give in to her hurtful threats and monetary requests, she has spiraled out of control and is making false and absurd claims.”
Vanessa adds that Laine is “now trying to get more money than my husband and I ever spent to provide for her while he was alive.” She also criticizes the lawsuit as “frivolous, disgraceful and unimaginably hurtful.”
“She has no regard for how this is affecting my children and me,” she says, claiming, “She wants to live off of my daughters and me for the rest of her life while continuing to collect monthly alimony from her ex-husband since 2004. My husband and I have never discouraged or kept her from providing for herself.”
“My husband never promised my mother anything,” says Vanessa, “and he would be so disappointed in her behavior and lack of empathy.”
Elizabeth Leonard
source: people.com
