Vanessa Bryant and Taylor Swift have formed a strong bond following the deaths of Vanessa's husband Kobe and daughter Gianna in January 2020. And the love between them in on display again following the final episode of Swift's docuseries Taylor Swift: The End of an Era.
As reported by E! News, on Tuesday, Dec. 31, Vanessa posted a photo of Swift in the docuseries to her Instagram story. It shows Swift wearing a blue sweatshirt from the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation in a scene in which she rehearses a duet with Gracie Abrams.
The nonprofit was founded in honor of Gianna and Kobe, who tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2020. According to the foundation's website, it "provides funding and sports programming for underserved athletes to enable participation in school and/or league sports." All of the net proceeds from Mamba & Mambacita merch go toward this goal.
Alongside the photo of Swift, Vanessa wrote, "What a gift! We love you @taylorswift!!!!!!" In a second post, Vanessa shared another photo of Swift wearing the sweatshirt in End of an Era and tagged both Swift and the foundation.
Taylor Swift wearing the blue Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation sweatshirt in 'Taylor Swift: The End of an Era'.
Vanessa is undoubtedly aware of Swift's impact, which explains why she'd call the pop star wearing the sweatshirt "a gift". Swift is hugely popular—the Eras Tour is the highest-grossing tour of all time—so the 36-year-old wearing the sweatshirt will lead more people to learn about the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation and likely to purchase merch themselves.
This isn't the first time Vanessa and Swift have shown support for one another. In August 2023, Vanessa and Kobe's daughter Bianka received Swift's "22" hat during an Eras Tour concert in Los Angeles. Vanessa also shared on Instagram the customized jacket that she wore to the show, which featured a photo of Kobe and Swift on stage together on the back along with the word "Swiftie", and the lyrics "Say you'll remember me" from Swift's "Wildest Dreams" embroidered on the front.
Taylor Swift and Kobe Bryant on stage together during one of her 1989 World Tour shows in Los Angeles in August 2015.
The photo of Kobe and Swift was taken in 2015. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, during her 1989 World Tour, the basketball player surprised the singer with a banner for performing a record-setting 16 sold-out shows at the Staples Center. (The Staples Center, as it was then known, is where the Los Angeles Lakers play.)
In January 2024, Swift wore another piece of Mamba & Mambacita merch, a pendant necklace designed for the foundation in collaboration with jewelry brand Zoë Chicco. Vanessa responded to Swift wearing the necklace on Instagram, writing, "Love you."