Ex-Housekeeper Sues Kobe Bryant and wife

In a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed on March 20 by Maria Jimenez, the 48-year-old housekeeper claims that Vanessa Bryant verbally abused her and humiliated her while she worked for the couple.

Jimenez alleges that Vanessa "badgered and harassed her," the Los Angeles Times writes. She also forced her to perform demeaning tasks such as digging into a bag of feces to retrieve a price tag for an expensive blouse Jimenez put in the washer.

In addition, Jimenez claims that Mrs. Bryant called her "lazy," "slow," "dumb," and a "liar," with some profanity mixed in with the adjectives. The housekeeper says she tried to quit, but stayed after Kobe Bryant convinced her to stay and Vanessa apologized. Despite the apology, Bryant's wife continued to yell at Jimenez, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Bryants released a statement through the law firm Loeb & Loeb LLP stating that Jimenez's claims are "totally unfounded and patently false."

"The Bryants intend to vigorously defend against these untruthful allegations and are confident that the baseless nature of the allegations will be proven," the statement said.

According to the New York Post Jimenez is suing for more than $127,000 in unpaid medical benefits, more than $20,000 in unpaid wages and an unspecified dollar amount in general and punitive damages.