Kobe became the screenwriter and executive producer of the animated short film Dear Basketball last year, and contributed his own voice to the film, and Dear Basketball finally won the Oscar for best animated short film last year. Because of this achievement, Kobe Bryant was also recommended as a new member of the association by the short film department of the Oscar Organizing Committee. However, when the organizing committee screened the list in the second round, Kobe's name was deleted and did not enter the final round of the board of directors.
Insiders said that perhaps for the Oscar organizing committee, Kobe Bryant is not qualified to be invited at present, because his works are not accumulated enough. After all, Dear Basketball is only his first work. In fact, this situation is very common. Young filmmakers who have been nominated for an Oscar for the first time or won an Oscar often have a precedent of being rejected by the Oscar Organizing Committee.
But at the same time, some people question whether Kobe's refusal is related to the rise of the "Me too" feminist movement, given that Kobe himself has a black history of sexual harassment allegations. In 2003, a Colorado hotel employee aged 19 accused Kobe of sexually harassing himself during his stay in the hotel. Bryant was also arrested on this felony charge, although the case was later dropped because the prosecutor refused to testify in court.