Vanessa Bryant is defending her late husband, Kobe Bryant, who was accused of rape in the past. Vanessa criticized Westworld actress Evan Rachel Wood for a tweet she published only hours after Kobe and Gianna’s death, labeling him a “rapist,” which she branded “vile” and “disturbing” on her Instagram story earlier today.

On Jan. 26, 2020, the NBA icon and one of the most famous sportsmen of all time, along with Gianna Bryant, one of their his four children, died in a helicopter crash. Evan tweeted when the news of their deaths became public: “What has happened is tragic. I am heartbroken for Kobe’s family. He was a sports hero. He was also a rapist. And all of these truths can exist simultaneously.”

Vanessa, 38, shared a screenshot of it on her Instagram Story.

“This just came to my attention,” the late athlete’s wife said on her Instagram Story on Saturday, February 27. “Your false, insensitive, defamatory and slanderous tweet on 1/26/20 is vile and disturbing to say the least. Behavior like this is part of the reason why innocent black men go to jail for crimes they didn’t commit. An accusation doesn’t make someone guilty. YOU DON’T KNOW THE FACTS OF THE CASE.”

The post alludes to an incident in which an NBA player was accused of sexual assault by a hotel employee in Colorado in 2003. When the accuser declined to testify, criminal charges were dropped against Kobe, and the unidentified lady sued him, the two sides struck a deal. Vanessa filed for divorce when Kobe admitted to being unfaithful to her with the 19-year-old hotel employee, but the pair reunited soon after and were happily married until Kobe’s death.

The purported victim, on the other hand, denied the story, claiming that Kobe was just violent against her. After the meeting, she developed bruises around her neck, which the Philadelphia native said were the consequence of a sex act. The blood of his accuser was also discovered on a T-shirt. Kobe was arrested and charged with sexual assault, but the charges were dropped in 2004.

The day the charges were dropped, Kobe apologized to his accuser.

“Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view the incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter,” he stated at the time.

Abigail Disney, a producer who has spoken out about Bryant’s rape accusations, was also singled out by Bryant. “I haven’t said anything about Kobe so far because I felt some time needed to pass before weighing in. But yes, it’s time for the sledgehammer to come out. The man was a rapist. Deal with it,” Disney wrote.

When E! News contacted Evan, he had no quick reaction on Vanessa’s article, and her representative had no immediate comment.

Following the initial backlash to her initial tweet about Kobe, the actress wrote on Twitter last year that her post was “not a condemnation or a celebration,” but rather “a reminder that everyone will have different feelings and there is room for us all to grieve together instead of fighting. Everyone has lost. Everyone will be triggered, so please show kindness and respect to all .” She eventually removed both tweets after receiving significant online backlash.

Vanessa went on to publish supportive letters written by several people who defended her late husband on social media after sharing her remarks to Wood and Disney.

On social media, fans rallied around Vanessa, with many pointing out how Woods worked with director Woody Allen, who was accused of sexual assault in 1992. Most people merely objected to the tweet’s timing, claiming that publishing something so contentious on the same day isn’t fair to those who are mourning.

Woods retaliated on Instagram, posting statements about being truthful and honest, as well as tweets about how victims and trauma victims “crave honesty.” Fans concluded the Woods’ stories had to be about the same incident, even though this was not a direct answer to Vanessa’s direct message.