Kobe Bryant
Cheered Despite Rape Case
Seacrest Shunned By Some
3/5/2018 6:16 AM PST
EXCLUSIVE
Kobe Bryant celebrated an amazing victory Sunday night … winning an Oscar and, incredibly, the celebrities in the audience had a case of selective amnesia.
Kobe took home the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for “Dear Basketball.” The audience cheered Kobe … some even rose to their feet for a standing O.
Interesting … considering the majority of the audience were wearing Time’s Up pins. You may recall — although a lot of the people who came out after the ceremony didn’t — Kobe was arrested in 2003, charged and tried for rape. The case fell apart when the alleged victim stopped cooperating with prosecutors. Kobe subsequently settled for a reported $5 million, though he denies paying her a cent.
Kobe was Teflon at the awards ceremony. Not so for Ryan Seacrest, who was shunned by some celebs even though he hasn’t been sued, arrested, charged — and was cleared by an E! investigation.
And James Franco was essentially exiled from the Oscars — again not arrested, charged, nothing.
So, why did Kobe get a pass? We spoke with a bunch of stars including Shawn Mendes, Bebe Rexha, Colin Hanks and others who claimed they had no knowledge of his past. Some just made jokes.
Hollywood — consistency not its strong suit.