Kobe Bryant’s Housekeeper Sues Over Crappy Work Conditions
Kobe Bryant’s former housekeeper is suing him and his wife over what she claims were really crappy work conditions.
In a suit filed in Orange County Superior Court in Calif., Maria Jimenez — who worked for the NBA star and his wife, Vanessa from September 2007 to March 2008 — alleges that she was forced to quit because of “intolerable” conditions. Almost immediately upon starting work, the complaint alleges that “Vanessa began a continuing pattern of verbally abusing and demeaning her.” Jimenez said she was called lazy, slow, dumb, a liar and was cursed and screamed at in front of Kobe, the couple’s children — Natalia, 6, and Gianna, 2, and others.
In one of the most shocking claims, Jimenez says that Vanessa screamed at her following an incident in which Jimenez accidentally washed an expensive blouse. “Vanessa demanded that Maria put her hand in a bag of dog feces to retrieve the price tag for the blouse,” the complaint alleges. Fed up, Jimenez says she quit but Vanessa demanded that she work until her next pay day to cover the $690 cost of the blouse.
Jimenez paints Kobe in a more sympathetic light, saying he once talked her out of quitting and made Vanessa apologize to her, but the abuse began again.
The couple also failed to provide health insurance, as promised when she was hired, Jimenez alleges. She said she didn’t learn she didn’t have coverage until she became ill and sought medical attention.
The action seeks unspecified damages, as well as back pay and overtime Jimenez says she is owed.
