Kobe Bryant Dropped From Film Festival Due To His 2003 Rape Allegation
[Yahoo] - Kobe Bryant was dropped Wednesday from the jury of an animated film festival after calls for the former NBA star’s ouster over a 2003 rape allegation.
Chief executive officer Eric Beckman of GKIDS, the company that organizes the Animation Is Film Festival, announced the move.
“After discussions with the various stakeholders of Animation Is Film, the decision has been made to remove Kobe Bryant from the 2018 jury,” Beckman said in a statement. “We are a young organization and it is important to keep our collective energies focused on the films, the participating filmmakers, and our festival attendees.”
Nothing witty here or anything like that. Just newsworthy because this is the first time I can remember Kobe’s 2003 rape allegation coming back to light and preventing him from doing something. This time it’s being dropped from the jury of an animated film festival. It was initially brought up when an online petition started circulating calling for the festival to drop Kobe from the jury.
Kobe responded to the news by saying:
“This decision further motivates me and my commitment to building a studio that focuses on diversity and inclusion in storytelling for the animation industry,” Bryant’s statement said. “I remain focused on changing the world in positive ways through diverse stories, characters, and leadership, in order to inspire the next generation.”
I mean, that’s fine, but he probably should drop a line about accepting the decision and helping women. Don’t just make it about being motivated. We know, you’re Kobe. You’re always finding some weird way to get motivated and use that to your advantage. There’s always some sort of slight against you, like being the 3rd best player in the Western Conference behind Tim Duncan and Shaq during your prime.
I hate writing blogs like this, but it’s newsworthy. As I mentioned it’s the first time Kobe’s rape allegation was brought back up and we’ll see if it continues at all.
