Accountability in Entertainment • Page 115

I haven’t seen anyone really “ignoring” it. It’s as much a part of Kobe’s legacy as the five rings or the 81 point game. Granted, people may be discussing in more detail the positives of his life than the negatives, but i haven’t really seen ignoring it that much at all.

Though, it does seem the tragedy of the accident being while he was with his daughter is far outweighing everything else and that doesn’t seem like an unfair thing to focus on.

 

I saw a tweet shared in the NBA thread here about how you can “mourn but still make room for survivors” and I think that’s true, but most of what’s happening does not seem to be making room for survivors. Not an attack on anyone on this site, and the uniquely tragic nature of Bryant’s death affects how people will instinctively and emotionally feel about it, I get that, but I hope there’s room in the coming days for people to talk about him in ways that don’t reduce or ignore what he did.

 

I think it's possible to lament the loss of the other passengers, two of whom were innocent children, while also being clear-eyed about the kind of person Bryant himself was.

 

Watching ESPN/NBATV and listening to podcasts yesterday and today, whenever the rape was brought up it was basically just referred to as “Colorado”, and it was mostly used to frame the type of person Kobe was before and who he became after, about how having committed a rape lead to him becoming a better person. That doesn’t feel like it leaves much room for survivors at all. I think it’s perfectly fine and necessary to talk about even this soon, and a lot of the people talking need to do better for sure.

 

Actually i just read through this again and there's some pretty yikes stuff in there, like the reporter making it a point to mention that the survivor allegedly came from a wealthy family, which, like, idk how the hell that's relevant, or saying multiple times some variation of "we may never know what truly happened in that hotel room". But it's worth reading for it's thorough summary of the relevant details, including the very convincing evidence against him.

 

The transcript of his police interview is out there, I spent an afternoon reading it one time and I don't remember many details but I definitely remember coming away thinking it was a pretty incriminating document

 

Kobe Bryant Police Interview

 

That’s the guy everyone is mourning huh

 

i thought this was an okay thread on it. idk. its super difficult because people's positive feelings for him are genuine and deeply felt, and for basketball players and lots of fans its clear that he was a genuinely significant inspiration for tons and tons of them, probably for most beginning before the assault even happened. for lots of people that place he had in their lives was probably solidified before they were old enough that anyone could blame them for not properly processing and judging the situation. but obviously no one has any obligation or should be expected to care about any of that, or be at all polite about it if someone is whitewashing it or outright denying it.

 

What the fuck Terry

 

I brought up Micheal Jackson to my brother over Christmas break and he parroted some story about how people were pressured by the documentary crew to make things up.

People are really eager to believe vague stories that absolve the people they like

 

I’m glad this is all being discussed because I have felt completely uncomfortable ever since the news dropped and I’ve been afraid to mention any specifics of why.

 

This was posted in the NBA thread. I'm conflicted about it, definitely. It seems to sanitize a lot of the events surrounding the case/the way that the defense spoke about the victim in addition to making up these "David Bowie" hypothetical people to advance the point. Was there justice in this case? Did Kobe atone for what he did? Is the survivor satisfied with the outcome? Idk

 

David Bowie sucked too

 

Until the day society forgets about him and his music, there’s gonna be people who don’t want to accept that MJ did shitty things. Often times, because his music meant something to those people and they can’t let that go. I myself have had my own issues accepting that because he meant so much to me growing up, I legit cried when he died. Eventually, I knew I couldn’t fight against it any more, and it was time to accept that he wasn’t really that innocent as I projected him to be.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thinkp...f-the-kobe-bryant-rape-case-6a42f159be7b/amp/

I had this bookmarked this when it came out, I think it’s well written for people who are looking for a good rundown of the Kobe rape case. I don’t have much to add to what’s already been said here on Kobe and I agree with pretty much everyone, but on his sexual assault legacy specifically I do think it’s important to push back on the notion that he somehow atoned for it. Part of his legacy is not just the rape but also vicious victim blaming and smearing that has been modeled by others because it worked. I also tend to agree that it’s probably not a good time to really bring this up, the way those 9 people died is so tragic people need time to process. I’ve really only been pushing back when I see people downplaying the assault or some form of victim blaming.

 

I honesty never read the details of the case, but that daily beast piece was brutal. Bringing Shaq into it, and saying she wasn’t attractive. Like why does that matter??

edit: referring to what Kobe said btw

 

The vitriol over her tweet is so unfounded. She was 100 percent correct in her statement on Kobe, especially as a survivor.

 

Hero worship is a hell of a drug

 

'Mighty Ducks' Shaun Weiss arrested for burglary while on meth: Police

Jesus this is fucking heartbreaking. That picture is horrible. I hope that someone can help him.

 

That is so rough. Damn.

Loved him in Heavyweights

 

He’s been in very rough shape for years now and it’s sadly not the first time something like this has happened. I keep hoping there will be an update showing that he’s turned a corner and is making progress, but I don’t know anything about his possible support systems or if that’s likely to happen at this point. It makes me so sad to read the fluffy press pieces from Disney talking about rebooting the franchise and how much the series means to people while knowing that someone so closely tied to it is suffering right now.

 

Really sad. He posted this a year and a half ago.

 

My heart truly shatters whenever stories like this come out. So sad.

 

Wow I missed this. That's so sad