Source: JC Olivera / Getty
There’s nothing social media loves more than a hypothetical or rumor that ignites think pieces for days to come.
Unfortunately, the most recent featured the late Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, claiming she’s pregnant. Vanessa rarely speaks about her personal life, but she went on Instagram Stories to dispel the tall tale.
The 43-year-old posted a picture of an unbothered Rihanna floating in water, with a drink in hand, flipping off the camera with a caption reading, “Me protecting my peace, not pregnant & having fun all summer.”
She followed it up with another Rihanna meme showing the singer smirking with the words, “I’m not mean, I’m just not the one.”
There is no exact source for the rumor, but a quick search on X reveals a video from this weekend with 12 million views and 40,000 likes of an image of Vanessa that some claim shows a baby bump.
Attached is a man fighting to believe that Vanessa shouldn’t be allowed to move on after Kobe died in 2020.
“Kobe wife pregnant, and y’all females out here defending her, talking about ‘oh she’s allowed to move on.’ Actually no the f-ck she not,” the man says. “When you got kids by a mothef-cker like Kobe Bryant, you ain’t never supposed to disgrace his legacy.”
He continues, “She got pregnant by the Black Mamba. She supposed to die a legend like him. If it was up to me, she wouldn’t have access to no more funds or my estate.”
To be clear, Vanessa has four kids with the Lakers legend, including Natalia, 22, Bianka, 8, Capri, 5, and Gianna, who died at 13 alongside her father in the tragic helicopter crash.
The eldest, Natalia, graduated from USC in May, with her diploma handed to her by Lakers president Jeanie Buss while wearing a red graduation stole embroidered with Bryant’s Black Mamba sheath logo and the message, “Thank you Mom & Dad.”
See how social media is reacting to the rumors below.