Vanessa Bryant's Mom Responds To Extortion Accusations: 'I Am So Disappointed, Hurt And Wronged'

Vanessa Bryant's mom, Sofia Laine, has addressed the extortion accusations made by Kobe Bryant's widow, saying she was hurt by her daughter's actions.

On Tuesday, Laine, 68, sued her daughter for financial support after Bryant denied that she was the family's "longtime personal assistant and nanny." Bryant fired back at her mom, accusing her of trying to "extort a financial windfall" from their family and stressing that her late husband never promised to take care of Laine for the rest of her life.

Following Bryant's allegations, Laine released a lengthy statement via Us Weekly in which she accused her daughter of trying to "sever all ties" with her.

"All I wanted is what I worked for. Vanessa, despite everything that I have been promised and done for her and the family, has attempted to sever all ties and renege on all obligations and agreements," Laine said.

"Why would she do this to her own mother?" she continued. "I am so disappointed, hurt, and wronged to the point that I had no choice but to file a lawsuit. I am nearly 70 years old, my health is deteriorating, and my own daughter is doing this to me?"

Laine raised Bryant and her sister, Sophie Laine, as a single mom. She stressed that the late NBA player "respected me for the way I raised Vanessa."

Despite Bryant's denial, Laine claimed that the former "knows very well" that she was "the family nanny for two decades." She also insisted that Bryant's extortion allegations "cannot be further from the truth.”

"It is unfortunate that Vanessa is making such false statements, especially in the public. I understand she is trying to preserve her reputation, but it does not excuse her behavior. … She knows the truth and she knows I was their nanny. She knows very well that she failed to pay me what I was owed," Laine added.

Laine claimed that when her daughter moved her out of her home and into an apartment, Bryant completed a rental application in her name, without her knowledge, and wrote that she was being paid $200,000, which equates to a $96 per hour wage. She is hoping that Bryant would change course, do what is right and give her what was promised to her.

"I also hope that Vanessa will stop preventing me from seeing and spending time with my grandchildren. She is using my grandchildren to punish me for exercising my rights. Although I had no choice [but] to sue Vanessa, after this is all said and done, hopefully we can go back to having an amicable mother-daughter relationship. In the end, the truth will prevail," she added.

Bryant and Laine's dispute started in September when the latter claimed her daughter kicked her out of her family home after Kobe's death. Bryant also allegedly wanted the car she had been using.

Bryant had denied her mom's claims that she was there for her when Kobe and their daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash in January.

"My husband and daughter passed away unexpectedly, and yet my mother had the audacity to do a television interview speaking negatively of me while shedding tears for a car and a house that were not in her name," Bryant said.

She continued, "Now I see what is most important to my mother and it’s more than painful. I hope that everything that is coming out about our personal relationship ends here."