Outrage after Evan Rachel Wood calls Kobe Bryant ‘rapist’ just hours after his death

January 28, 2020

Actress Evan Rachel Wood sparked a huge backlash for calling Kobe Bryant a “rapist” just hours after his death — getting accused of taking the #MeToo movement too far.

“He was a sports hero. He was also a rapist,” the 32-year-old “Westworld” actress tweeted Sunday moments after news of the basketball legend’s death in a helicopter accident alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people.

“And all of these truths can exist simultaneously.”

Wood’s tweet sparked instantaneous outrage, with many pointing out that the 41-year-old hoops legend was never prosecuted in connection to sexual assault accusations made against him almost 17 years earlier by a 19-year-old Colorado hotel employee.

“And this is where the Me too movement has gotten out of control… attacking a man who literally just died less than 24 hours ago, with his little girl!” Catherine (Kathleen) Curtin replied in disgust.

Another person, Wes Hatton also accused the actress of turning “#MeToo into a joke.”

“These things need to be taken seriously and your[sic] just looking for attention after him and his daughter JUST died. Wow,” he tweeted, calling Wood a “narcissistic disappointment.”

Screenshot of Wood's tweet

Fellow actress Kyla Pratt told Wood that she has “admired” her work, both “on camera and off.”

“But this tweet? How f–king dare you?” she tweeted in disgust.

Wood tried to calm the criticism on Monday, asking for “kindness and respect to all.”

“Beloveds, this was not a condemnation or a celebration. It was a reminder that everyone will have different feelings and there is room for us all to grieve together instead of fighting,” she wrote, saying that “everyone has lost.”

It only managed to spark further outrage, however, such as a tweet by Torraine Walker telling her, “You don’t get to cover that bulls–t you did with third rate greeting card platitudes.”

Amid the attacks, Wood also had messages of support.

Kobe Bryant and his lawyer during his sexual assault trial
Kobe Bryant and his lawyer during his sexual assault trial

“She voiced my thoughts when I heard the news,” Amy Starkey wrote.

“As a survivor who had to watch other people express sorrow when my rapist died, while all I could feel was relief and then guilt for that, Evan spoke for me. And I appreciate it.”

Twitter user @soillodge also linked to video of the actress giving testimony on Capitol Hill in 2018, where she detailed being raped, tortured and mentally abused by a former boyfriend.

“How many people mad at Evan right now know that she helped change a law to help rape victims?” the message read.

  • Share:

You Might Also Like

0 comments