Vanessa Bryant speaks out after her mother made 'beyond hurtful' claims in explosive new interview

Kobe Bryant's widow, Vanessa Bryant, has spoken out about the shock claims her own mother made in a new interview.

Speaking with Spanish-language network Univision, Sofia Laine claimed she was kicked out of her home by Vanessa months after the death of the NBA star. Sofia said the home had been a gift from Kobe, as was a car she alleged Vanessa made her return.

The claims have prompted a grieving Vanessa to release a statement in response to the allegations. 

"My husband and daughter passed away unexpectedly and yet my mom has the audacity to do an interview on TV talking negatively about me while shedding tears about a car and home that wasn't in her name," Vanessa said in a statement to the program, as obtained by People magazine. 

In her statement, 38-year-old Vanessa said that her mother tried to appear poor in the interview by removing "all her diamond jewellery" and stripping her apartment bare for the cameras to make it seem like she was living "without support" from the wealthy Bryant family. 

"My husband and I have financially supported her over the past 20 years, and I continue to do so, in addition to her monthly alimony," Vanessa said.

Previous reports suggested that Sofia had been Vanessa's rock since she lost Kobe and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, in a helicopter crash in LA back in January. But Vanessa said those reports were far from accurate. 

"Contrary to previous reports, she has not been physically present or emotionally supportive for my daughters and me after my husband and daughter passed away," she said. "Going forward, I see what is most important to my mum and it is beyond hurtful. I hope this public airing of our personal relations will stop here."

The Univision interview aired on September 21 in the US and was conducted in Spanish by Univision reporter Dave Valadez. The reporter shared a teaser clip on his Instagram over the weekend before sharing the interview in its entirety one day after it went live.

"[Vanessa] told me, 'I need you to get out of this house.' She also told me that she wanted her car and she wants it now," Sofia told Valadez in the sit-down, as translated in English.

It has been a challenging week for Vanessa. The grieving widow also filed a lawsuit against eight Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies who allegedly took photos of Kobe, Gianna and the other seven passengers who died at the scene of the helicopter crash.

According to the lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Vanessa was left "devastated and distraught" following the alleged breach and lives her life in fear that she and her surviving daughters — she also shares Natalia, 17, Bianka, three, and 14-month-old Capri with Kobe — will one day be confronted by the images. 

"Mrs. Bryant feels ill at the thought of strangers gawking at images of her deceased husband and child, and she lives in fear that she or her children will one day confront horrific images of their loved ones online," stated the lawsuit.