It took him a day or two to get there... but Meek Mill is sorry.
Facing growing heat over a leaked Kobe Bryant lyric, Meek Mill issued a private apology to Bryant's widow Vanessa. On Feb. 23, the rapper took to his Twitter amid backlash over a Kobe Bryant name drop in his unreleased song. The leaked song, “Don’t Worry,” features fellow rapper Lil Baby and includes the lyric, “If I ever lack I’m goin’ out with my choppa, it be another Kobe.”
Kobe, along with his and Vanessa's 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others, died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. After the lyric went public, Vanessa Bryant called Meek Mill out publicly.
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“Dear @meekmill, I find this line to be extremely insensitive and disrespectful. Period,” Bryant, 38, wrote on her Instagram Story late Monday. “I am not familiar with any of your music, but I believe you can do better than this.”
She continued, “If you are a fan, fine, there’s a better way to show your admiration for my husband. This lacks respect and tact.”
Mill at first dismissed fan criticism of the lyric. But he later said on Twitter that he offered a private apology after hearing of Bryant's objections. "I apologized to her in private earlier today, not to the public. Nothing I say on my page directed to a internet viral moment or the family of a grieving woman! If you care about someone grieving change the subject!"
Bryant marked the one year passing of her husband and 13-year-old daughter last month by sharing a letter on her Instagram feed from one of Gianna's best friends and then writing an emotional note in response.
"My Gigi is INCREDIBLE and I truly appreciate your thoughtful letter. She loves you so much. I miss my baby girl and Kob-Kob so much, too. ♥️ I will never understand why/how this tragedy could've happened to such beautiful, kind and amazing human beings. It still doesn't seem real. Kob, we did it right. Gigi, you still make mommy proud. I love you!"