Widow of Kobe Bryant, Vanessa Bryant, called out rapper Meek Mill for his “insensitive” lyric about the late basketball player.
What happened?
Recently, Meek Mill had the lyrics of one of his songs leaked. The song was a collaborative effort between him and rapper Lil Baby. It was reportedly called Don’t Worry (RIP Kobe).
The song contained the lyric, “Yeah, and if I ever lack, I’m goin’ out with my chopper, it be another Kobe,” in reference to the tragic helicopter crash that resulted in the death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, 13-year-old Gianna Bryant.
According to TMZ, sports commentator, Kenny Smith, expressed that he’s going to “give Meek a pass” for the inappropriate lyric. He said that Meek Mill is an outspoken fan of Bryant and has a solid track record.
Smith added, “I always give Meek the benefit of the doubt.”
However, Vanessa Bryant doesn’t feel the same way. Captured by The Shade Room on Twitter, she took to her Instagram story to let Meek Mill know that his word choice was “insensitive” and disrespectful.”
Vanessa Bryant wrote, “I am not familiar with any of your music but I believe you can do better than this.” She went on to share, “If you’re a fan, fine, there’s a better way to show your admiration for my husband. This lacks respect and tact.”
Meek Mill seemingly responded with a series of tweets, writing, “I’m going back savage in this s**t” and “Ion trust people gotta play it raw.”
But it turns out that those tweets may not have been directed at Vanessa Bryant at all. Meek Mill later revealed that he did apologize to Vanessa, he just didn’t do it publicly.
He wrote, “I apologized to her in private earlier today not to the public…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!”
What are fans saying?
Needless to say, the online community appears to be leaning team Bryant on this one. Many Twitter users are clouding Meek Mill’s posts with tweets demanding that he apologize for his actions.
One Twitter user pointed out that Meek Mill’s tweets were sent “not even 20 minutes after Vanessa Bryant made her post…” They added, “You need to be apologizing Meek.”
Another wrote, “This is a funny way to say I’m sorry Vanessa Bryant for writing that wack bar about your deceased husband.”
Sports fan Sandy added to the conversation saying that there was “no way” that Meek Mill didn’t say those aforementioned tweets in response to Bryant’s Instagram story.
The people have spoken. The general consensus is: Meek Mill needs to apologize for his words about Vanessa Bryant’s late husband, which he did eventually do.