Kobe Bryant's Oscar win stirs controversy

   LOS ANGELES, March 5 (Xinhua) -- One of the biggest surprises of 90th Academy Awards on Sunday was Kobe Bryant winning the Best Animated Short Award. However, the former Laker's win triggered one of the biggest controversies in Hollywood, when a past sexual assault allegation was brought up again.

   Eyebrows were raised that Bryant could win an Oscar in the year of Hollywood's #TimesUp movement, and many on social media pointed out that this showed the hypocrisy in the movie industry.

   Bryant was accused of sexual assault in 2004 but charges against him were dropped when the woman who accused him refused to testify in court. Kobe said the sexual encounter was consensual.

   Bryant won the Oscar for his short animation film "Dear Basketball". The short follows the aspirations of Bryant as a young boy practicing his shots with a mini basketball made from a pair of his NBA dad's rolled up socks.

   The short is based on a poem Bryan wrote as his basketball career was starting to come to an end. That poem became the basis for the animated short of the same name.

   On the Academy podium, Bryant got emotional when accepting his Oscar. "I dreamt of winning championships, but this feels better. To be here right now is a sense of validation... when you find what you love to do, everything else makes sense, "  Bryant said.

   He said it meant so much because people had discouraged him from writing, saying he was bound to fail and would come crawling back to the game. But he persevered and cited talk show icon, Oprah Winfrey, and TV hit-maker, Shonda Rhimes, as his mentors.

   Reaction online was mixed. Many were very happy for Bryant but others thought his win was a symbol of Hollywood hypocrisy.