Death of Naya Rivera

On July 8, 2020, American actress and singer Naya Rivera was declared missing after she failed to return from a boating excursion on Lake Piru near her home in California. Shortly afterwards, her rented boat with her 4-year-old son, Josey Dorsey, was located. Dorsey was unharmed. A search conducted by various authorities in southern California began, though Rivera was formally presumed dead the next day; the search lasted until the morning of July 13, 2020, when her body was recovered and she was pronounced dead at the age of 33. The death was an accidental drowning, with the investigation determining Rivera exhausted herself saving her son's life in the water. The public manner of the search and Rivera's celebrity contributed to extensive media attention on developments before and after she was found; additionally, Rivera had been a series regular on the popular television series Glee, and was the third of such actors to die young. Her body was found on the same day as that of co-star Cory Monteith in 2013. Following her death, authorities banned swimming in Lake Piru. Prior to Rivera, several people had drowned in the reservoir. Her ex-fiancé, rapper Big Sean, also faced public backlash based on comments he made and music he released in the aftermath of her death. Background: Lake Piru is a man-made reservoir in the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County, California, and is sourced by the Santa Clara River. From at least 1993, Lake Piru was the only lake in the county to permit swimming, a popular recreational activity, though it has seen multiple drownings since then. The Lake Piru Recreation Area was closed to the public for much of 2020, with the closure starting before April 4 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and lasting until it reopened on July 1. American actress and singer Naya Rivera had been visiting Lake Piru for years by 2020, and is said to have considered it a "sanctuary". Rivera was a strong swimmer. She suffered from vertigo that could become worse when swimming, but had previously been treated for the condition at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and managed it with appropriate medication. Rivera was an experienced boater, taking similar trips from a young age. In a 2017 interview, Rivera had mentioned a scary experience on one such trip, when the anchor of her family's boat got stuck and her father injured himself on the propeller trying to free it. Between 2009 and 2015, Rivera starred on the television comedy Glee, about a high school glee club. In 2013 and 2018, other young actors from the show, Cory Monteith and Mark Salling respectively, died. Drowning: Rivera's mother, Yolanda Previtire, said that Rivera and her four-year-old son, Josey Dorsey, had been planning a barbecue by Lake Piru on July 8, 2020, before deciding to rent a boat when they arrived. They left the dock at about 1:00 p.m. PDT, and were expected back at 4:00 p.m., three hours after they left the dock; when they did not return, a search began. Dorsey was found at around 5:00 p.m., alone and asleep wearing a life jacket. When interviewed by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, Dorsey told investigators that he and Rivera had jumped off the boat into the lake together and swam briefly, but his mother quickly told him to get back onto the boat. He recalled that she helped him climb back into the boat, but was unable to climb back onboard herself and then disappeared underwater while reaching up and calling out for help. Dorsey also stated that his mother was not wearing a life jacket. The Ventura County sheriff suggested that Rivera and Dorsey likely found themselves caught in a rip current – these can be common in the area of the lake they were in, especially during the afternoon – and struggled to get back to the boat, which was found unanchored and so may have drifted from where they entered the water. He concluded that Rivera likely "mustered enough energy to save her son, but not enough to save herself", noting how Dorsey described being pushed back onto the boat by his mother. Search and recovery: After Dorsey was found at about 5:00 p.m. on July 8, 2020, in the Narrows, an area at the north of the lake that can be quite deep and windy, a 9-1-1 call was made and a formal search and rescue operation was launched. The boat was searched and an adult life jacket was found on board, along with Rivera's identification. Dorsey was interviewed in the evening of July 8. Rivera's vehicle, a black Mercedes G-Wagen, was found in the parking lot by the dock. The sheriff's office suspended the search and rescue operation that evening and resumed again the following day. The lake was closed to the public, with dive teams from across the region taking part in the search. On July 9, the sheriff's department confirmed to NBC that Rivera was presumed dead and that rescue efforts would now shift to recovery efforts: on the first day of the search, efforts had been made on land to determine if Rivera had made it out of the lake; a lack of evidence and Dorsey telling officers that he saw his mother disappear underwater led them to change the search to recovery. They also released closed-circuit television footage of Rivera and her son arriving in the parking lot and leaving the dock on the boat. On July 10, the number of divers involved was cut from around 100 to around 40. The sheriff's department explained that the visibility was so poor it was more probable Rivera would be found by using sonar devices. As well as dive teams and sonar, sniffer dogs were taken out on the lake. On July 11 and 12, Rivera's parents and stepfather, brother Mychal Rivera, ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and close friend and Glee co-star Heather Morris joined the search team at the lake. Morris had wanted to conduct her own search around the shoreline, and was in contact with the sheriff's captain in charge of the search, Eric Buschow, whom she already knew, several times. The sheriff's office dissuaded more civilians from trying to search because of dangerous terrain. They restated that they were searching on land as well as in the lake. On July 11, the sheriff's office had announced that other counties and a private contractor were assisting with the search. On July 13, it was announced that a body had been found floating in Lake Piru by divers when the search resumed in the morning, at around 9:30 a.m.; the body was confirmed to be Rivera's at a press conference held later that day. Buschow told the media that the body had been found just north of Diablo Cove. Rivera was officially declared dead on July 13, which is reflected on her death certificate, though this document does state that she died "within minutes". On July 14, the Ventura County medical examiner released an autopsy report stating that the cause of death was an accidental drowning and that there was no evidence of injury or intoxication. The complete toxicology report was made public on September 11, 2020. It said that small amounts of prescription medications for anxiety – amphetamine and diazepam – were found in Rivera's system, as well as caffeine. She also had a negligible blood alcohol content at the time of her death. The autopsy concluded that none of these factors led to intoxication or contributed to her death. Soon after the release of this report, singer-songwriter Demi Lovato reacted negatively, posting an Instagram story asking "Would details about substances appear in an article about a blonde white female who drowned?" Response to disappearance: Fans of Rivera posted messages of support during the time of her disappearance, though some expressed "frustration" on social media as the sheriff's office repeatedly asked fans to not attempt to search themselves in the land around the shore of Lake Piru; while Morris had initially suggested she would do this, she also joined the authorities in asking civilians to keep away, as they may get into difficulty in the rural terrain and need rescuing themselves. Shortly after Rivera's disappearance was reported, a petition was started by fans to have signs warning of the danger of swimming erected at Lake Piru. Another Glee actress, Lea Michele, deleted her Twitter account during Rivera's disappearance after becoming a target for internet trolls. While many of the show's actors had stayed close after it ended in 2015 and had posted on social media with prayers for her safe rescue, Michele had stayed silent. In May and June of 2020, Michele had been the subject of backlash as many of her co-stars accused her of unpleasant and even racist behavior on set, and she had been absent on social media after this. In previous years, Rivera had personally spoken out against Michele, saying she was difficult and that they were not on speaking terms by the end of the show's run, but said that they did not have any "beef". Michele reportedly received death threats for her silence. Funeral: Rivera was interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Hollywood, a cemetery known for its many entertainment industry burials, following a private service attended by family and close friends, including members of the Glee cast, on July 24, 2020. Rivera's crypt is located two to the left of that of Sandra Dee. Responses- Public figures: Fans of Rivera shared tributes after she was found dead. Her family thanked them for the "outpouring of love" in a message shared on July 15. Rivera's ex-fiancé Big Sean wrote a post on July 19 saying she was "a hero", referring to saving her son and the representation she gave for many. Her ex-husband Ryan Dorsey made no public statement until after Rivera's funeral, when he posted on Instagram to say that he was still finding her death hard to believe, but that having their son makes coping easier "because a part of Rivera will always be with him", promising to raise Josey knowing who his mother was. Other reactions from public figures included prominent politicians Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kamala Harris, who noted her profound impact in creating intersectional representation on primetime television; Demi Lovato, who played the girlfriend of Rivera's character on Glee in its fifth season, expressed similar sentiments, writing: "The character you played was groundbreaking for tons of closeted (at the time) queer girls like me and your ambition and accomplishments were inspiring to Latina women all over the world". Tributes came from performers across music, television, film, and theatre. Glee: Rivera's many Glee co-stars, a group of whom had gathered at the lake on July 13 to say prayers shortly before her body was found, also paid tribute. Jane Lynch was one of the first to react after her death, tweeting "Rest sweet, Naya. What a force you were"; several other members of the cast also described her as "a force". The show's creators, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, and Brad Falchuk, announced that they planned to start a college fund for Rivera's son, Josey. Heather Morris posted photos of their sons together, calling Rivera a "consistent and loving friend" who was the "strongest and most resilient human being she knew", and shared a video of herself dancing to Rivera's song "Radio Silence" in tribute. The media noted that Rivera's body was found on the anniversary of the death of her co-star Cory Monteith seven years earlier; a tribute she had sung for him, the song "If I Die Young", saw a surge of views. Lea Michele posted black-and-white images of Monteith and Rivera on Instagram to remember both of the actors, while Max Adler tweeted "Hey, July 13th" followed by a middle finger emoji, and John Lock tweeted "today of all the days", as reactions to the deaths of their co-stars. Another member of the cast, Kevin McHale, tweeted that "he is not religious by any means, but you'd be hard-pressed to convince him that Cory didn't help find our girl Rivera today". Monteith's mother, Ann McGregor, also posted a lengthy tribute, writing how much Rivera's friendship had meant to her son and their family and saying: "We'll carry you in our hearts forever. We miss you. Friends reunited for eternity". Rivera's work: Rivera had a lead role in the television series Step Up, which was renewed for a third season and moved network to Starz in May 2020; Rivera was announced to be continuing her role as the season went into production. With Rivera's death, the season is set to be rewritten. In February 2020, shortly before filming was shut down, Rivera recorded a guest spot in an episode of the Netflix show Sugar Rush, to be released on July 31, 2020. Following her death shortly before this date, Netflix entered discussions with Rivera's family and manager about releasing the episode; it was announced on the day before the season's release that it would be airing as planned, with the episode dedicated to her. In the two weeks following her death, the single "Supermassive Black Hole", a 2012 track by 2Cellos featuring Naya Rivera, appeared in the charts; it reached number 16 on the iTunes Top 100 Classical chart in the week of July 13 to July 19, 2020, dropping to number 81 the week after. Lake Piru: Lake Piru remained closed to the public for over a month after Rivera's death. It planned to reopen on August 17, 2020, but the Holser Fire between the town of Piru and the reservoir prevented access and the lake remained closed until August 20. While it reopened for fishing and boating, swimming at the reservoir is now prohibited. Big Sean controversies: Rivera began dating recording artist Big Sean in April 2013; they were engaged between October 2013 and April 2014. They had an unpleasant separation and Big Sean rapped about Rivera on his diss track "I Don't Fuck with You", despite her begging him not to. In an interview shortly after her death, Big Sean claimed that Rivera liked the song "I Don't Fuck with You" when he was asked if he regretted dissing her; as she had expressed her dislike for what Distractify described as a "super demeaning song" in life, some fans became upset that Big Sean appeared to be lying about her feelings to improve his own image and "#bigseanisoverparty" began trending on Twitter. The interview had been conducted as publicity for his album Detroit 2; after the album was released it was described as "polarizing", with Pitchfork taking particular issue with the song "Lucky Me". Part of the track is a "vapid insistence that someone's personal struggles might specifically be a problem for Big Sean", as he describes trouble involving his ex-girlfriends as a "living nightmare" for himself. The review found this unpleasant on the surface, adding that such lyrics "become borderline sociopathic when you recall that earlier this summer, Big Sean's ex-girlfriend, the actress Naya Rivera, died in a boating accident while saving her son's life." Tributes: A memorial to Rivera was constructed under the Lake Piru sign in the days after her death. In late July 2020, Filipino director Drama Del Rosario thanked Rivera and her representation in his acceptance speech for the Jury Prize at the PBS Short Film Festival; his winning film looked at how his family came to accept his sexuality when he was outed in high school, with Rivera's Glee character Santana Lopez helping them understand, and he said "she is a testament to how much queer entertainment can change the life of a family on the other side of the world". Chris Colfer guest wrote an article for Variety eulogizing her. To honor Rivera, the Gay Emmys replaced its Best Coming Out Story award with the Santana Lopez Legacy Award For Outstanding Queer Teen Character, beginning with the 2020 event. Singer Amber Riley (also a former Glee actress), under her stage name RILEY, performed a tribute to Rivera on the August 27, 2020 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!; guest host Lil Rel Howery, another friend of the late actress, organized the tribute when a musical guest dropped out, inviting Riley instead. The performance, broadcast in black-and-white, included a montage of images from Rivera's life provided by her mother. Despite not being primarily associated with music in 2020, Rivera was included in the In Memoriam segment of the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, appearing along with Chadwick Boseman at the end of the montage. When Boseman died in August 2020, his death was compared to other unexpected deaths of young black celebrities in 2020, particularly Kobe Bryant and Rivera. She was similarly remembered at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, appearing with Regis Philbin at the beginning of the montage.