Disney heiress Abigail Disney sparked backlash with a tweet about Kobe Bryant’s tragic death by bringing up a past allegation of sexual assault involving the Lakers legend.
“I haven’t said anything about Kobe so far because I felt some time needed to pass before weighing in. But yes, it’s time for the sledgehammer to come out. The man was a rapist. Deal with it,” she wrote before many Bryant fans responded to her statement with fury.
“Each of us is more than our worst deeds, and less than our best. People aren’t easily divided into good and bad. I won’t excuse or defend what KB may have done that night, but if you aren’t moved by the hundreds of stories of his generosity and kindness, you aren’t paying attn,” one person tweeted.
“This is unfair and not ok. Feel how you will about him but his wife lost her husband, his daughters lost their father. If you must go down this road, educate yourself fully on that situation first, you just may feel a bit differently,” wrote another user.
“Damn some people have no respect for the dead. Kobe literally lost his life along with his daughter a few days ago. Its national news when a ‘black’ athlete makes a mistake but when Brock Turner raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster and get a 6 month sentence and served 3,” said another poster.
Westworld actress Evan Rachel Wood also came under fire for a similar tweet, which she later deleted, that read, “What has happened is tragic. I am heartbroken for Kobe’s family. He was a sports hero. He was also a rapist. And all of these truths can exist simultaneously.”
Disney, who turned 60 last week, is known for her outspoken opinions on powerful people. Last April, she ripped into Disney CEO Bob Iger for making $65 million.
“I’m choosing to be a traitor to my class,” she said in a July interview about why she is outspoken against those in power. By her own accord, she is worth $120 million, although Disney claims she would be worth more if she had invested more aggressively.
Her latest attack on the recently deceased Bryant follows the Washington Post reinstating Tuesday a reporter who tweeted an article about the NBA superstar’s rape allegations.