Former Housekeeper Sues Kobe Bryant And Wife Vanessa
March 25, 2009
Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant are being sued by their former housekeeper, a Peruvian immigrant in a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Maria Jimenez, 48, says she was verbally abused and humiliated while she worked at the Bryant’s home in Newport Coast. Jimenez alleges Vanessa badgered her, harassed her, and forced her to perform demeaning tasks. She also claims that Vanessa called her “lazy,” “slow,” “dumb,” a “liar” and used profanity when addressing her.
Jimenez says she worked 60 hours a week in their home from September 2007 to March 2008, cleaning their house, washing their laundry and cleaning up after their children.
The suit alleges that on one occasion, Vanessa screamed at Jimenez after one of the children came to her for comfort yelling: “I don’t want you to touch my baby. I hired you for housekeeping, not baby-sitting.”
Jimenez also claims after complaining about her workload and not having breaks Vanessa told her, “You haven’t done anything.”
The Bryants have denied the allegations and a statement from the law firm Loeb & Loeb LLP, reads:
“Ms. Jimenez’s outrageous allegations of improper conduct are totally unfounded and patently false. The Bryants intend to vigorously defend against these untruthful allegations and are confident that the baseless nature of the allegations will be proven.”
William Vogeler, Jimenez’s lawyer, said his client was wrongly discharged because she was working under “intolerable circumstances” that led to her leaving the job. He also said the Bryants did not provide Jimenez with health insurance.
Jimenez also alleges that Vanessa Bryant screamed at her for putting a $690 blouse in the washing machine, and then later demanded that she put her hand in a bag of dog feces to retrieve the price tag for the blouse. She refused and said she would quit, but the suit states Vanessa demanded that she pay for the blouse first. Jimenez says she stayed on the job to work off the cost of the blouse.
WHAT???!!!
March 26th, 2009 at 3:05 am
First of You cant treat people wrong and think it ok. God bless you with that type of living, and can also can take it away . He want us to start treating other people with respect. Even if she is your housekeeper. I hope he put you and your wife in a position where you two have to need that woman help and rest to sure it going to happen. And know this
March 26th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
[…] Kobe Bryant’s former housekeeper sues him and his wife Vanessa (dailystab) […]
March 26th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
the blouse thing is so stupid. wtf would some1 get pissed cuz their maid put a freakin blouse in the washer?! wtf some ppl r so dumb these days, sheesh!
April 30th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Kobe needs to put the wife Vanessa in her place. “treat our help respectful” What a brat she is. Unreal !
April 30th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Hopefully, the truth will come out. I just read the comment from the Bryants.
Could these allegations be false? Just to make money off of them?
I cannot imagine people treating the help so poorly. Sounds ‘made up’.
Perhaps the maid is lying to benefit monatarilly.
May 21st, 2009 at 8:05 am
I hope one day she looses all the glamour she has,
which she has cause of kobe. The way that maid was treated
was very wrong, and it could be true or false, but if she
was treated like that, you might lie in court but God saw what she
did to that poor woman, and from him you can’t hide and she will
be punished one way or another.
September 26th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
They’re famous and richest now but it isn’t forever. Infact, the last vietnamese emperor-Bao Dai had to immigrante to France and leaved in poverty the last day of his life. This kind of woman-Vanessa doesn’t have a career,isn’t intellectual except married a basketball player. Mrs. Jimenez life is more valuable and productive then that woman. Vanessa doesn’t provide any things good to society except mistreating and humilating other human being. God would punish this type of people one way or another. I just wonder what kind of human being like her? Is she a human or what?….
June 11th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
seriously if vanessa mistreated the help or not its no ones business