Vanessa Bryant had a support system behind her as she walked into court Monday.
Kobe Bryant‘s widow, 40, was accompanied by friends Ciara and Monica, as well as 19-year-old daughter Natalia Diamante, at her trial over the graphic leaked images of Kobe, their daughter Gianna and the seven other victims of the fatal January 2020 helicopter crash.
The group sat behind her during testimony from an internal officer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and even accompanied her outside when she needed to take a moment.
Shaquille O’Neal previously showed his support for Vanessa during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, praising her for “holding people responsible” and noting that he “couldn’t imagine what she’s going through.”
“I feel for her,” he said. “We’ve never talked a lot [but] we’ve always had respect for each other. Every time I see her, it’s a hug, it’s a laugh.”
In her ongoing trial against L.A. County, Vanessa took the stand on Friday to give an emotional three-hour testimony about what she experienced following the deaths of her husband and daughter.
She explained that she felt helpless after members of the LASD and other emergency personnel allegedly shared graphic images, causing her to “live in fear every day of being on social media and having these photos pop up.”
“I just remember not wanting to react because the girls were in the room,” Vanessa said, referencing the three other children she shares with Kobe — Capri, 3, Bianka, 5, and Natalia.
She added, “I bolted out of the house and I broke down and cried and I just wanted to run down the block and scream. I can’t escape my body. I can’t escape what I feel.”
Vanessa is suing L.A. County for emotional distress and mental anguish concerning the purported images. At the time of the crash, Kobe and Gianna were traveling to a youth basketball game with seven others.