Vanessa Bryant, wife of the late basketball star Kobe Bryant, called out rapper Meek Mill for referencing her husband’s helicopter death in his latest song.
The Philadelphia rapper, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, has faced backlash over the past week after his song “Don’t Worry (RIP Kobe)” with rapper Lil Baby leaked online.
In the track, Mill raps, “If I ever lack, I’m goin’ out with my chopper, it be another Kobe.”
Kobe Bryant died at the age of 41 in a January 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas, California along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people.
The lyric prompted Vanessa Bryant to post an Instagram Story criticizing Mill.
“I find this line to be extremely insensitive and disrespectful. Period,” she wrote. “I am not familiar with any of your music, but I believe you can do better than this. If you are a fan, fine, there’s a better way to show your admiration for my husband. This lacks respect and tact.”
Several people came to Vanessa Bryant’s defense, including WNBA player Candace Parker, a close friend of the Bryants.
“Dear @vanessabryant I’m sorry YOU and your GIRLS have to continually deal with S— like this,” Parker wrote in an Instagram post that was shared by Vanessa Bryant.
“It’s not fair it’s not right! We love you and I continually am in awe in your ability to take the high (road). So I will follow suit and say to everyone.”
Mill said in a Twitter post on Tuesday that he reached out to Vanessa Bryant and apologized in private, rather than issuing a public apology.
“Nothing I say on my page directed to a internet viral moment or the family of a grieving woman! If you care about someone grieving change the subject!” he added.
Vanessa Bryant recently opened up about her grief and the importance of persevering in an Instagram Story last month.
“Grief is a messed up cluster of emotions. One day you’re in the moment laughing and the next day you don’t feel like being alive,” she wrote in a post shortly before the one-year anniversary of the crash.
“I want to say this for people struggling with grief and heartbreaking loss. Find your reason to live. I know it’s hard. I look at my daughters and I try to push through that feeling for them. Death is guaranteed but living the rest of the day isn’t. Find your reason.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
