Vanessa Bryant Donating $16 Million To Mamba & Mambacita Foundation

Vanessa Bryant sued officials in Los Angeles for their role in the dissemination of photos from the helicopter crash site where her husband and daughter, along with 7 other people, lost their lives. Bryant, fortunately, prevailed in the case and received $16 million. Now, Vanessa Bryant has decided to donate the awarded sum to the Mamba & Mambacita Foundation.

Vanessa Bryant is sinking the $16 million she won from Los Angeles County toward a cause close to her late husband Kobe Bryant’s heart; she claimed that it will all go to the Mamba & Mambacita Foundation.

Bryant and co-plaintiff Chris Chester won their lawsuit against L.A. County in January 2020 over the release of images obtained at the helicopter crash scene with the jury awarding Vanessa $16 million and Chris $15 million. According to TMZ, Vanessa’s attorney Luis Li gave a statement relating to Vanessa’s want for fairness in the trial.

“From the beginning, Vanessa Bryant has sought only accountability, but our legal system does not permit her to force better policies, more training or officer discipline.”

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“Those measures are the responsibility of the sheriff’s and fire departments — responsibilities that Mrs. Bryant’s efforts have exposed as woefully deficient, even giving amnesty to the wrongdoers. Mrs. Bryant was courageous and never faltered, even when the County attempted to force her to submit to an involuntary psychiatric examination. She is deeply grateful to Ralph Mendez and Luella Weireter, the good Samaritans who brought to light the decades old practice of taking and sharing photos of accident and crime victims for no legitimate purpose.”

According to Li, Vanessa feels that this case will help to improve the “callous behavior” of the sheriff’s and fire departments’ first responders. She also wants the $16 million judgment “to shine a light on Kobe and Gigi’s legacy.”

As previously reported, during closing arguments in the trial, Chester’s counsel urged the jury to award, Chris, $32.5 million, while Vanessa’s team made no such suggestion. After several days of emotional evidence and explicit descriptions of the images in question, the jury barely deliberated for a few hours on Wednesday before returning with the decision and judgments.

Finally, the litigation is done, and Vanessa has determined what to do with the money she was granted. Vanessa’s decision to donate the award appears to be one of the best. What are your thoughts? Do you appreciate her decision? Let us know in the comments. Stay tuned to Thirsty for more information.

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