Vanessa Bryant is reacting to Taylor Swift subtly supporting Kobe Bryant and her family in her End of an Era docuseries.
“What a gift,” Vanessa, 43, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, December 30, sharing a screenshot from End of an Era. “We love you @taylorswift 💙!!!!!!”
As Swift, 36, practiced an acoustic section mashup ahead of one of her last Eras Tour concerts in Canada, she was dressed in a blue Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation sweatshirt. (Kobe’s widow founded the organization after her husband and daughter Gianna tragically died in a 2020 helicopter crash, along with six other people.)
In a follow-up slide, Vanessa posted another pic of Swift wearing her Mamba merch and added a “We [heart] you” sticker, alongside one of an illustrated pair of hands making a heart like Swift’s Fearless symbol.
Swift has a long history with the Bryant family, starting in 2015 when she enlisted Kobe to join her onstage during the Los Angeles stop on her 1989 Tour. Kobe even presented the pop star with a banner honoring her record 16 sold-out shows at the same venue where his Lakers played home games.
Kobe died at age 41 five years later in a helicopter crash alongside 13-year-old daughter Gianna. (Kobe and Vanessa also shared daughters Natalia, Bianka and Capri.)
“My heart is in pieces hearing the news of this unimaginable tragedy. I can’t fathom what the families are going through,” Swift tweeted in 2020 after the NBA icon’s death. “Kobe meant so much to me and to us all. Sending my prayers, love, and endless condolences to Vanessa and the family and anyone who lost someone on that flight.”
Swift remained close to Vanessa and her family in the years since Kobe and Gianna’s deaths. When the Bryants attended Swift’s Eras show in L.A. in August 2023, Bianka received the “22” hat.
Taylor Swift Courtesy of Vanessa Bryant/Instagram
“Every person in that audience, hopefully, is being shaped positively in some way by something that they see or something that they hear,” Swift explained of the tradition in her Disney+ docuseries. “The ‘22’ moment stems from a hat that I wore on the Red Tour, so I wanted to really bring back that moment of just kinda, like, [having] a moment with a fan where I actually get close with them.”
While performing “22,” Swift sashayed down her catwalk to give her Red-inspired fedora to a waiting concertgoer.
Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images Taylor Swift’s “22” hat moments have been a trademark throughout her Eras Tour. During Swift’s record-breaking tour, which kicked off in March 2023, fans have experienced plenty of unforgettable moments, from sharing friendship bracelets to seeing Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, take the stage. Some of the most magical interactions, however, come during […]
“What’s so interesting about that moment every night is I never know what kid I’m gonna meet,” the Grammy winner said. “I’ve got people in the audience, scouring the crowd for the first couple of eras, trying to find a kid who knows every single word to the songs and having the time of their lives at this show.”
According to Swift, the lucky child chosen is “basically a representative of every kid in that crowd.”
“It could be, like, a little kid that gets really shy when all of a sudden they’re seeing 60,000 people for the first time or, it could be, there are kids that bloom under the bright lights and they’re just, like, ‘I’m a pop star now.’ It’s always wild to be in this moment with this person that I’ve never met before, this little kid, and everything’s going on around us and somehow we’re able to just have this moment be completely between us.”
Taylor Swift: The End of an Era is now streaming on Disney+.
