The world was shocked last summer when actress Naya Rivera passed away at age 33. A terrible accident occurred on July 8, 2020, while Rivera and her son, Josey (then 4 years old), had rented a pontoon boat and took it out on a lake in Ventura County, California. After going into the water to swim, Rivera did not resurface, and Josey was found asleep on the boat. Rivera’s body was then found in a different area of the lake five days later.
Rivera is perhaps best known for her scene-stealing role as Santana Lopez on the popular show, Glee, which ran from 2009-2015. The show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, is a powerhouse in Hollywood, having been the creative force behind numerous projects including American Horror Story, Pose, The Politician, and Ratched, to name a few. Shortly after Rivera’s death was confirmed last year, Murphy and his fellow members of the Glee creative team, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, put out a statement, in which they said they would be setting up a college fund for Rivera’s son Josey. “Our hearts go out to her family, especially her mom, Yolanda, who was a big part of the Glee family and her son Josey. The three of us are currently in the process of creating a college fund for the beautiful son Naya loved most of all,” they stated via 20th Century Fox TV on July 13, 2020.
Murphy came under fire recently, as Rivera’s father, George, called him out in a series of tweets on Tuesday for seemingly not delivering on this promise. One of Rivera’s tweets reads, “When you are part of the Hollywood elite, some people treat others as they are ‘less than’ …. vocalize a good game , but it’s as shallow as the sets on stage , that they create. Promises made in public, only to fade with time and excuses …. even in a unexplainable tragedy …” Rivera engaged with several replies from fans, and accused Murphy of “broken promises.” However, about an hour after the tweets started, Murphy replied, tweeting, “Myself, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan have committed to create a college fund for Naya Rivera’s child Josey through the Naya Rivera Estate Trust. We have been in repeated conversations with the appropriate executors of her estate.”
On January, 21 of this year, Josey’s father, Naya Rivera’s ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey, gave the public an update on how the (now) 5-year-old is doing. Accompanying a picture of Josey, Dorsey tweeted, “This little boy…man…I couldn’t be any prouder of someone. At such a young age, he’s endured more than anyone should at 5 years old. “You’re so strong, so brave, and so kind. I will always be proud of you and we will always #keeppounding b/c that’s all we can do.”
