This is the kind of thing you should really just keep to yourself. If you feel the need to celebrate somebody else’s death, you’re likely pretty screwed up and, in Ari Shaffir’s case, he’s receiving the backlash he rightfully deserves. Over the weekend, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were named among the fatalities in a Calabasas helicopter crash. The entire world — not just the basketball community — has been mourning his tremendous loss, remembering all the incredible feats he achieved and sending love to Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s longtime partner. Comedian Ari Shaffir decided to take the opportunity to actually gloat about how happy he was that the legend passed away, tweeting that it should have happened during his rape trial in 2003. As you would expect, he’s being cancelled as we speak.
“Kobe Bryant died 23 years too late today,” reportedly wrote Shaffir, who later claimed he was hacked. “He got away with rape because all the Hollywood liberals who attack comedy enjoy rooting for the Lakers more than they dislike rape. Big ups to the hero who forgot to gas up his chopper. I hate the Lakers. What a great day.”
His account has since been made private and, after insisting he did not press send on the disgusting post, he actually doubled down with a video saying basically the same thing. “Every once in a while there’s a good story that comes out,” says Shaffir as he stands in front of the Charlotte Hornets’ arena, which is the team that drafted Bryant. “A guy who got away with rape got his today. Kobe Bryant is gone. I’m here in Charlotte, the home of the team that originally drafted him… maybe he wouldn’t have raped that chick in Denver if he had stayed in Charlotte with the Hornets.”
There’s no place for commentary like this, especially when a mother is mourning the loss of her husband and her teenage daughter.
On The Fighter and The Kid podcast, Brendan Schaub and Bryan Callen discussed the comments, noting that Shaffir has never exhibited signs of this level of disrespect. They say that his video “shatters common decency,” which is a sentiment echoed by thousands of fans online. Watch below at the 12-minute mark. Rest in peace, Kobe and Gigi.
