Female reporter suspended for tweeting Kobe Bryant 'rapist' minutes after his death

A Washington Post reporter has been suspended for tweeting expletives against Kobe Bryant minutes after his death due to helicopter crash

A Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez sent out an expletive-filled tweet against Kobe Bryant minutes after his death due to a helicopter crash, which also killed his daughter by digging up a three-year-old article on The Daily Beast which accused him of rape. She tweeted, ''Kobe Bryant's Disturbing Rape Case: The DNA Evidence, the Accuser's Story, and the Half-Confession.''

Going by the timing and the description of her tweet, one can assume she did it to gain attention, followers and page hits for her previous articles, as news on Kobe Bryant is all over social media right now.

The reporter got called out for her unruly tweet

Felicia Sonmez Rape Tweet On Kobe Bryant
Twitter / Felicia Sonmez

Unfortunately, the reporter's stunt was called out by Twitterati and she received negative comments on her post. Sensing danger, she quickly deleted her tweet but many users shared the screenshot of it and it's still circulating online. A user lashed out against her saying, ''You can delete your tweets. How about an apology? #garbagehuman.''

Another user commented, ''This is gross. A woman lost her husband and child today. Kids lost their father and sister. Children all over the world lost their hero. People are grieving. Maybe give it a day before you trample on the memories of the deceased.''

"You're a terrible person," wrote author Mike Cernovich and "What kind of person just decides to post this now," said Daily Wire contributor Harry Khachatrian. The Washington Post has now suspended reporter Felicia Sonmez for her tweet and many users appreciated the newspapers swift action.

Reporter deletes the tweets again

After she received more than 10,000 negative comments, Felicia Sonmez shot back saying ''Well, THAT was eye-opening. To the 10,000 people (literally) who have commented and emailed me with abuse and death threats, please take a moment and read the story - which was written 3+ years ago, and not by me. Any public figure is worth remembering in their totality.''

She further tweeted in another chain, ''Even if that public figure s beloved and that totality unsettling. That folks are respondig with rage & threats toward me (someone who didn't even write the piece but found it well-reported) speaks volume about the pressure people come under to stay silent in these cases.''

Felicia Sonmez Rape Tweet On Kobe Bryant
Twitter / Felicia Sonmez

However, after receiving further backlash for her tweet, she deleted all of it. Her latest tweet right now is a hit piece against the White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, accusing her of not holding a camera briefing at the White House podium.

READ MORE