Kylie Jenner flew in Kobe Bryant’s helicopter with her niece Dream, 3, two months before the late athlete’s fatal crash on Sunday, January 26 — but the toddler’s mom, Blac Chyna, said she never gave permission for the flight.
“Chyna has become aware that Kylie Jenner is using the tragic deaths of Kobe Bryant, his beautiful daughter, and seven other precious souls to profess her ‘distress’ that she and Dream had ridden on the same helicopter with the same pilot prior to Sunday’s horrific crash,” the Lashed creator’s lawyer, Lynne Ciani, wrote in a Monday, January 27, statement. “What Kylie failed to disclose was that Chyna never gave Kylie permission to take her precious daughter, Dream, on a helicopter ride and that Chyna never would have given Kylie that permission. No parents should find out after the fact that their child has participated in a dangerous activity without their permission. Chyna was distraught to learn that Kylie had taken Dream on that helicopter ride in November 2019. Chyna voiced her strong objections to Rob [Kardashian] and insisted that it never happen again.”
The statement went on to read: “Chyna sends her heartfelt prayers and condolences to all of the families impacted by yesterday’s tragedy.”
Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were killed in Sunday’s Calabasas, California, crash along with seven other passengers.
“At [a] loss for words right now,” Jenner, 22, wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the father-daughter pair following the tragic accident. “Praying for this beautiful family.”
The Kylie Cosmetics star went on to write on her Instagram Story the following day: “Rest in peace … and prayers to these families. I still can’t believe this. That was the helicopter I would fly on from time to time with that pilot, Ara [Zobayan.] He was such a nice man. Hold your loved ones close.”
The reality star took Dream on “her first helicopter ride” in the Sikorsky S-76B model in honor of the toddler’s November birthday. “You are a gift,” she captioned a picture of the birthday girl smiling in front of the chopper.
Chyna and Kardashian, 32, welcomed their daughter in 2016 and split the following month. The former couple are currently battling for custody of Dream.