Vanessa Bryant’s Mom Responds To Extortion Claims: ‘Why Would She Do This To Her Own Mother?’
Vanessa Bryant addressed her mother’s “unimaginably hurtful” lawsuit in a statement on Thursday. Vanessa said her mom, Sofia Laine, is trying to “extort a financial windfall from our family” nearly a year after the tragic death of her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna Bryant.
RELATED: Vanessa Bryant Reveals Mother Is Trying to “Extort” Her With ‘Hurtful’ Lawsuit
As we previously reported, Sofia, 68, is suing Vanessa, 38, for financial support, claiming she worked unpaid as a “longtime personal assistant and nanny” for the family, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE Magazine. Sofia claims in the lawsuit that before Kobe’s death, he “promised to take care of” her “for the rest of her life.” Vanessa explained in her IG Story statement post that “I have supported her for nearly 20 years, and she was never my or Kobe’s personal assistant, nor was she a nanny,” Vanessa began. “I have always been a stay-at-home mother and my husband and I were our daughters’ full-time caregivers.” Vanessa says her mom’s claims are “obviously false” and insists she repeatedly tried to “work things out with my mother.” She added, “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.”
Vanessa Bryant’s mother has responded to her daughter’s statement saying it’s Vanessa who is lying and she has “proof.” “For starters, I would like to state that I do not enjoy airing our family grievances in the public,” Sofia Laine said in a Friday statement, according to TMZ. “Although I filed a lawsuit, I did not make any public comments and was hoping for the court process to run its course without the publicity, as hurtful as it is. I did not want this and do not want this.”
She continued, “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. Why would she do this to her own mother? I am so disappointed, hurt, and wronged to the point that I had no choice but to file a lawsuit.”
Before concluding she noted, “I am nearly 70 years old, my health is deteriorating, and my own daughter is doing this to me?” She also claims she WAS the family nanny for nearly 20 years noting, “[Vanessa] drafted and enforced an extremely strict schedule for the round the clock care of my grandchildren. It is simply ridiculous that she would deny this.”
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