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Vanessa Bryant and her mother Sofia Laine have locked horns in a legal battle that is now being fought in the court of public opinion as well as the courtroom. Vanessa and Sofia have both made multiple statements on social media as to the nature of the lawsuit. Laine is requesting payment for services rendered as a nanny and personal assistant to Vanessa and the late Kobe Bryant. Vanessa has denied that her mother was ever employed by her family in any capacity and the two are continuing to throw accusations.
She said/she said
Laine responded to her daughter’s most recent allegations in a lengthy statement to Us. In her statement, she addresses her daughter’s previous statements in Us Weekly. Laine filed a lawsuit on December 15, 2020, for financial support and unpaid earnings as a “longtime personal assistant and nanny”. Laine said, “All I wanted is what I worked for. Vanessa, despite everything that I have been promised and done for her and the family, has attempted to sever all ties and renege on all obligations and agreements.” Laine continued her statement, “I am so disappointed, hurt, and wronged to the point that I had no choice but to file a lawsuit. I am nearly 70 years old, my health is deteriorating, and my own daughter is doing this to me?”
Vanessa has denied Laine’s employment claim. Instead, Vanessa said Laine “has spiraled out of control”. And she is claiming that Laine is “continuing to try and find ways to extort a financial windfall from our family.” Vanessa continues to assert that Laine has only ever been a grandmother to her daughters. She described how she and Kobe provided for Laine physically and financially for the last twenty years.
Going Tit for Tat
Vanessa lost Kobe and her daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash that killed seven other people this January. Bryant said she believes Laine is “trying to get more money than my husband and I ever spent to provide for her while he was alive.” Vanessa continued saying, “She wants to live off of my daughters and me for the rest of her life”.
However, Laine asserts that “Kobe respected me for the way I raised Vanessa”. Laine also claims Kobe promised to “take care of her for the rest of her life”. Which according to Vanessa is exactly what she and Kobe had done.
Bryant stated that “For nearly two decades, we arranged for my mother to live in our nearby properties, at no cost to her because she had claimed that she didn’t have any money to buy her own home after her divorce. My husband and I felt it was best for her not to live in our home.” Bryant defends her position by explaining that she was a stay-at-home mother. She also describes how she and Kobe were their daughters’ full-time caregivers.
What hurts the most
Family feuds leave a path of wreckage in their wake that is incomparable to any other. Laine said talking about her “family grievances” was “hurtful” but she was left with no option. And now she is angry because “Vanessa, […] has attempted to sever all ties and renege on all obligations and agreements.”
Laine’s decision to file the lawsuit was “unimaginably hurtful” to Vanessa. Bryant said, “She [Laine] has no regard for how this is affecting my children and me.” Vanessa claims she offered to provide her mother monthly support for the rest of her life. But that offer “wasn’t good enough.” Vanessa Bryant asserted that “This lawsuit is frivolous, disgraceful and unimaginably hurtful. My husband never promised my mother anything and he would be so disappointed in her behavior and lack of empathy.”