How Kobe Bryant’s death impacted the entertainment industry six years on
How Kobe Bryant’s death impacted the entertainment industry six years on
Lauren MartinezSun, August 23, 2026 at 9:00 AM UTC
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Kobe Bryant's legacy in Hollywood is still being felt six years after his death -Credit:Getty Images
Kobe Bryant’s unexpected death after a helicopter crash in January 2020 shook fans of the basketball star greatly when it happened–and has since had a massive impact on the entertainment industry, both with new laws protecting victims and the way his legacy was left unfulfilled.
The NBA legend, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others who were en route to his Mamba Sports Academy, were all killed when the helicopter they were riding in crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California, on January 26, 2020. He was 41 at the time of his death.
Bryant has since been honored in a number of ways, including with a memorial statue that also paid tribute to his love for his daughters and promoting women’s sports, but his legacy also lives on due to the tragic circumstances surrounding the accident scene.
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Not long after the accident, horrific images of the scene were released to the public after first responders on the scene photographed the damage, including the bodies.
His widow, Vanessa Bryant, went on to file a landmark high-profile civil lawsuit against Los Angeles County after the fact, winning a $16 million judgment for emotional distress and severe invasion of privacy.
The situation directly inspired the Kobe Bryant Act, a California law that was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 29, 2020.
The law prohibited firefighters, police officers, and other first responders from taking, sharing, or possessing personal photos of dead victims outside of official job duties.
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Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna both died in a January 2020 helicopter crash -Credit:Getty Images
Violations are now classified as misdemeanors under state law and are punishable by fines up to $1,000 per offense.
Vanessa Bryant additionally settled her remaining claims with Los Angeles County for $28,850,000 over the photos.
While the Kobe Bryant Act had a massive impact on Hollywood and the privacy awarded to celebrities and others when crime scenes are involved, another unfortunate impact of Bryant’s death came from his death, cutting short his plans to become a mogul in the entertainment world.
Following his retirement from the NBA in 2016, Bryant founded a production company, Granity Studios, and quickly found infamy in entertainment with his animated short film Dear Basketball, which earned him an Oscar in 2017 for Best Animated Short Film.
Vanessa Bryant successfully sued Los Angeles County over photos of the crash site, and a law was enacted in his honor preventing it in the future -Credit:AFP via Getty Images
Prior to his death, he had also been in serious talks about creating an animation studio for other projects, with Bruce W. Smith, the creator of Disney’s The Proud Family, telling Double Toasted in 2020 that he and Sergio Pablos, the creator of the Despicable Me franchise, had met with Bryant to discuss future plans before he died.
“[Bryant] was heavily invested in starting an animation studio. So for the past six months or so Kobe and I have been in deep talks about making that happen,” Smith said at the time.
“So we’re together finding artists to galvanize his dream, and Kobe was, like they were saying, Kobe was beginning his second act, and animation was going to play a huge part in that.”
The legend had also been in talks to start an animation studio through his pdouction company before his death -Credit:Getty Images
Those projects all ground to a halt after his death, and Granity Productions has also since ceased operations as a traditional production company.
The website currently functions as a tribute to the projects produced under its label, including Dear Basketball and Bryant’s 2015 documentary Muse, the television program Detail, The Punies Podcast, and eight books.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
