Kate Hudson Remembers Bonding with 'Modern Day Superhero' Kobe Bryant Over Having Kids Young
Kate Hudson is remembering her friendship with Kobe Bryant and how they bonded as young adults in Los Angeles with children.
The actress, 40, talked about the death of the NBA Lakers legend, 41, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash on Sunday on her podcast with older brother Oliver Hudson, Sibling Revelry, calling the Lakers legend a “modern day superhero.”
“We both had kids at 24, we were both young parents,” Kate explained. “And so every time we would meet or see each other or talk, it was always about the fact that we had kids. And so when we were younger, it was like all our friends, you know, didn’t have kids and we had kids.”
The Almost Famous star said that almost every conversation with Bryant was about their kids. “I mean, it was everything to him,” she said.
Kate said that the last time they spoke, “it was talking about having teenagers.”
“What he did say about Gianna -- which to me was just so beautiful -- was he talked about her, how fierce she was and her tenacity and her drive and how proud he was. … And I just thought, you know, it’s important that not only that we talk about these things, but that the girls know how much he loved them … [fatherhood] was everything to him.”
“Kobe was a true icon in every sense of the word,” Kate said elsewhere in the podcast, speaking of his impact on the city of Los Angeles.
“When that man walked into a room, you felt every bit of his iconic presence,” Hudson, who recalled sharing dinner and “meaningful conversations” with Bryant, continued. “You could feel his dedication, you could feel his intelligence, you could feel his talent, you could see it, you could feel his God-given light.”
“And I know I think a lot of people have said this, and I just concur … that he had that thing … but it’s hard to put into words,” she added. “He carried a presence that was deeply and profoundly powerful.”
“I don’t feel worthy even talking about it,” Oliver, 43, shared, taking note of how much deeper the grief of the families of the victims must be. “Because … who am I to talk about the tragedy of Kobe’s passing?”
“I still can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t get it. It doesn’t make sense to me,” Oliver continued, adding that the deaths of those on board the helicopter makes him “question everything.”
“And it makes me question God. I don’t get it. Why? What does this do? Why did this happen? It doesn’t make sense,” Oliver said, echoing the thoughts of many others struck by the sudden tragedy.
Kate consoled her brother by acknowledging that tragedies like the one on Sunday are “unexplainable,” and that the best thing to do now is to try to honor the lives of those who died, “and let all of the people who are living now who have to think about this every day, and feel the loss every day, let them know they’re not alone and that there is a community, and a city, and a national and even a global support bubble and love that is going out to them and hope that they find some sense of healing in this terrible time of grief.”
Kate also shared a brief message on Instagram on Wednesday along with a photo of Bryant and Gianna.
“A call to love 💔 It’s been hard to put it in a post so Ollie and I just wanted to talk it out. Sending strength, power and love to all the families,” she wrote in the caption in reference to their tribute podcast episode.
Bryant and Gianna were two of nine people killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, including Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli and pilot Ara Zobayan.
Bryant is survived by wife Vanessa, 37, and their daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months.
