It might sound like a cliché at this point, but as someone born and raised in L.A., the death of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven others who also lost their lives in the hills surrounding Calabasas Sunday morning continues to feel like a bad dream. Or that, at any moment, someone might contact TMZ to let the rest of us know it was all a really bad joke. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen, which leaves the world and perhaps more importantly, this city, to make sense of Bryant’s complex legacy: Was he a hero? A once-in-a-lifetime talent? A villain? A rapist? All of the above?
Perhaps.
Or maybe, the “correct” version of Kobe’s story may never exist — and the only right way to feel about him is to not know how to feel about him.
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Say It Ain’t So, Joe
Remember Joe Exotic? The meth-cooking, illegal zoo-owning, Guy Fieri-look-alike-ing Florida Man attempting to hire an assassin to murder an animal sanctuary CEO? Turns out Mr. Exotic is going to prison for his crimes. Here’s our coverage from last year on the wild details of the case:
Jeff Gross
Jeff Gross is MEL’s senior editor for social media and content marketing. His daily ICYMI column, which chronicles all things meta on the site, is the quickest way to catch up on MEL, and the funniest thing you’ll read all day. Follow him on Twitter.
