The Challenge star Cory Wharton recently visited the location of the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others in January 2020.
He also brought his daughter Mila and girlfriend Taylor Selfridge along as they are seen with him in his recent social media post. His other daughter, Ryder, was not part of the trip.
Upon sharing his series of photos and videos from the site, it prompted many people to react. Some paid their respects to the late, great Lakers star, others criticized Cory for it, and some defended him from his critics.
Cory Wharton shares photos and videos from trip to memorial site
On Friday, Cory Wharton shared several photos and video clips featuring himself, Mila, and Taylor as they visited Calabasas, California, to pay their respects to the NBA legend known as the Black Mamba.
“Today we got a chance to go on a hike and visit Kobe crash site. You know we had to pay our homage though to the Black Mamba,” Cory said in his IG post’s caption.
In one of the video clips, Cory lets everyone know “we made it.” He shows the memorial area where people have left items in tribute to the late Los Angeles Lakers star, his daughter, and others who lost their lives in the crash in January 2020.
Another clip has Cory leaving a small, shiny gemstone at the memorial site as the “homage” they decided to pay to Kobe and others.
“We should’ve brought some flowers or something,” Cory remarks in his video.
Cory’s social media post arrived just a few days after the airing of Spies, Lies & Allies Episode 8. Cory is competing in his ninth season of the show and looks to be featured in a heated argument with his veteran castmate in Episode 9.
Fans react to Cory Wharton’s IG post
The trip to the memorial site that Cory took wasn’t necessarily an issue with some individuals commenting on his post. Instead, it was his smiling and posing in a picture, the words he used in his caption, or not having his other daughter along.
One person criticized the photos as “extremely disrespectful” due to Cory smiling and showing a peace sign from the location where individuals died in a crash.
“Idk man, some things you just keep to yourself,” one individual commented on the IG post.
Another let Cory know he should have used more sincere words to refer to the location besides “Kobe crash site” in his caption.
“His wife asked that no one share pictures of the memorial site,” another person commented referring to Kobe’s widow Vanessa Bryant.
Some individuals questioned Cory for not including his other daughter, Ryder, in the visit to the Kobe memorial site. However, a commenter set things straight on why she probably wasn’t along for the trip.
Another fan stepped in to defend Cory from the critics, indicating they see no issue with him deciding to visit the site to pay respects to Kobe and the others who died.
On Friday, Cory fired back at fans for criticism with a tweet saying, “let me be.” Many people who reacted to that tweet believed Cory was referring to his vaccination status, which The Challenge star said was making him unable to attend the reunion for Spies, Lies & Allies in October.
However, the tweet also arrived around the time he shared the Instagram post above, indicating Cory could have been referring to his visit to pay respects at the memorial site.
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