Dr. Umar Johnson has stuck a nerve with social media users following his appearance on “The Joe Budden Podcast.” The episode, which premiered on Christmas Day, saw the pan-Africanist supercharged as he accused Vanessa Bryant of flagrantly using her late husband, Kobe Bryant’s, fortune to further the advancement of white communities.
The staunch critic of interracial relationships accused Vanessa of being like other white women who marry Black men but do little to nothing to uplift the Black community. The mother of four is Mexican-American and was with the Los Angeles Lakers franchise player for 21 years and married for 19.
As widely reported, Kobe, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others perished in a January 26, 20202 helicopter crash. He was survived by his wife and three remaining daughters, Natalia, Bianca, and Capri.
In his argument against the widow, Johnson stated, “Vanessa inherited his wealth and guess what? Is Vanessa Bryant using any of that Black man’s money to do any good in the Black community? Absof—kinlutely not.”
At the time of his death, the NBA hall of famer had an estimated wealth of $600 million. In February, she was awarded a $28.85 million settlement in a lawsuit filed against Los Angeles County over photos taken at the scene of the helicopter crash.
I lived across the street from a community center in North Philadelphia (predominantly black) where Vanessa Bryant had the courts fully remodeled for the kids in the area. People just be talking to talk. https://t.co/acUBPc1mc2 pic.twitter.com/gqyt3kiZOp
— Chris Giddens (@CanPrinceLive) December 27, 2023
Vanessa reportedly donated her $16 million portion of the settlement funds to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. The organization, which was renamed from Mamba Sports Foundation after Kobe and Gianna’s deaths, hosts basketball skills academies for underserved youth and provides sports funding to schools and various leagues.
Johnson continued on with his rant. “Vanessa Bryant just started an initiative with three predominantly white colleges, some sort of sports initiative, with Kobe’s money and Kobe’s name. Didn’t choose a single HBCU with a Black man’s money,” he stated.
The University of Kentucky, University of Connecticut, University of Southern California, University of Oregon, Duke University, and Louisiana State University basketball programs were named as participants in the inaugural Mamba Program in the fall of 2023.
The partnership between the foundation, Nike, and universities provided the teams with custom uniforms featuring the Mamba logo, Kobe sneakers, and other apparel for the 2023–2024 season. The arrangment is a business deal intended to increase the brand awareness of the Mamba line of shoes, not a charitable contribution like Johnson suggests.
The social media personality hit back with, “Expecting white women to use Black money to help Black people, how is that unfair?” When called out by podcast co-host Ish for being “unfair” in his judgment of Vanessa.
Johnson’s criticism was met with backlash. “I mean you can’t go everywhere preaching other folks need to stay outta black business but when Vanessa Bryant does, since she isn’t black, now she’s part of your example because that’s ‘black money,'” read a tweet.
Another person posted, “That ain’t Vanessa Bryant job, her job is to take care of THE FAMILY WITH KOBE MONEY. He don’t know what kind of money talk they had before his passing. Dr. Umar just don’t need to mention Kobe AT ALL.”
Johnson has acknowledged the blowback from his guest appearance by continuing to share IG posts promoting his upcoming speaking gigs.
