The Kobe Bryant helicopter crash caused waves around the world, and just yesterday, his wife Vanessa Bryant, exposed the onsite authorities for taking pictures of the crash site to sell to the media.
The paparazzi has consistently been a thorn in the side of celebrities, as they share unauthorized images of people to the highest bidder from various media outlets. This, however, was not the case in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash, as it was the onsite authorities who were the ones to take images of the devastating accident. They reportedly sold the images to various media outlets, who have threatened to share them with the public.
In a statement by Vanessa Bryant on Sunday, 1 March 2020, she, along with her lawyers, stated, “Our client, Vanessa Bryant, is absolutely devastated by allegations that deputies from the Lost Hills Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department publicly disseminated photos from the helicopter crash site.” The statement went on to explain that Vanessa personally went to the police department the day following the crash and asked that no images be taken of the site, in order to protect the integrity of the victims and their families.
Incidents like these make me question the morals and ethics of people who prey on situations like these for their own gain. The authorities are the ones meant to handle such situations with the utmost care and sensitivity, but in this case, they were the ones to sell the images. Stricter laws need to be enforced in order to protect families in such circumstances. Along with the people who sold the images, media outlets who are involved in leaking the visuals should also be sued for their misconduct.
See Vanessa Bryant’s full statement below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9MpNwMDTdg/
Sayushka Naidoo