Beyoncé Pays Tribute to Kobe Bryant and His Daughter Gianna
Beyoncé is the latest celebrity to post a tribute for Kobe Bryant following his death.
On Wednesday night (January 29), the "Spirit" hitmaker took to Instagram to pay tribute to the NBA star and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who were killed in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on January 26.
"I will continue to diligently pray for your Queens," Beyoncé captioned the emotional post that sees Byrant planting a kiss on Gianna's head during a basketball game. "You are deeply missed beloved Kobe."
The Grammy winner also shared two separate photos of Gianna and a young Bryant.
The singer and the basketball legend have been friends for years. Though it's unclear when they first met, he appeared in Destiny's Child's "Bug a Boo" music video in 1999. Beyoncé and her husband, Jay-Z, were also appeared to be friendly with Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, and frequently attended Lakers games at the Staples Center.
Beyoncé's emotional post came shortly after Vanessa broke her silence to pay tribute to her daughter and husband, as well as thank everyone for their support.
"There aren't enough words to describe our pain right now," she wrote on Instagram. "I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon."
"I'm not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it's impossible to imagine life without them," she added, "But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way."
Like Beyoncé, many other celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Gigi Hadid, Taylor Swift, Ellen DeGeneres and Nick Jonas paid, paid tribute to Bryant on social media after news of his death broke.