Yesterday, authorities reported that actress Naya Rivera had gone missing after her four-year-old son was found alone on a rented boat in Lake Piru in Ventura County. Hear all the details below:
Rivera had reportedly rented the boat around 1pm local time on July 9th, and her son was found by another boater about three hours later with his mother nowhere in sight.
Police were called and a search and rescue dive team were deployed. However, after hours of searching, authorities have shifted the search to a recovery operation as Rivera is feared to have drowned.
It’s an utterly heartbreaking and tragic event, sparking a social media frenzy of thoughts and prayers from Rivera’s family, fans and celebrity friends alike.
As the search continues and Naya Rivera’s name appears in headline after headline, her loyal fans have been taking to Twitter to ensure her identity isn’t minimised.
Social media users are begging that Rivera isn’t simply identified as “Santana from Glee” – the character she is perhaps best known for portraying.
They have called for people to stop labelling her as just “Lea Michele’s rival” after co-stars recently spoke out about their difficulties working with Michele. Hear about that below:
Many fans are also pleading that Rivera’s name isn’t brought up in association with the “Glee curse”, an idea that the show – which ran from 2009 to 2015 – is somehow “cursed” because two of Rivera’s co-stars, Cory Monteith and Mark Salling, both passed away after a number of tragedies and traumatic incidents.
One Twitter user wrote, “Right now there’s a little boy waiting for his mommy to come home. There’s a man and woman waiting for their sister to be found. There’s two parents waiting for their daughter to be found.”
It’s important to remember that whilst Naya Rivera is famous, she isn’t just a public figure. She is a mother, a daughter, an actress and a human being.
We can only hope she is found safe and send all of our support to her family during this incredibly difficult time.
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