Things We Learned About Naya Rivera After Her Death
You can understand why many people believe that the cast of the all-singing phenomenon "Glee" were inflicted with a curse. First there was the fatal mix of alcohol and heroin that killed Cory Monteith, aka jock Finn Hudson, in a Vancouver, Canada, hotel room. Then Mark Salling, aka William McKinley High's resident bully Puck, was convicted of downloading child porn before dying by suicide.
And then Naya Rivera became the show's third young victim in a tragic swimming accident in 2020. The actor, who played feisty cheerleader Santana Lopez in the all-singing dramedy, was missing for six days before her body was found in Santa Clarita's Lake Piru in California, an incident which sent shockwaves through the world.
A whole host of stories about the multi-talent have emerged since the tragedy, which paint a picture of a caring, intelligent, and vivacious young woman. From her uncanny ability to remember copious amounts of dialog to her remarkable final act of bravery, here's a look at the things we learned about Naya Rivera after her death.
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Naya Rivera risked her life saving her young son
Following the tragic discovery of Naya Rivera's body in California's Lake Piru, authorities revealed that the "Glee" star had been hugely courageous in her final moments. In fact, if it wasn't for the actor's bravery, her four-year-old son would also have lost his life.
At a press conference (via Today), Bill Ayub, the Ventura County Sheriff, disclosed what was believed to have happened during that fateful day. While getting into difficulties in the water while swimming together, Rivera managed to lift her only child Josey onto the pontoon boat she'd rented that afternoon. Heartbreakingly, the youngster then watched his mother "disappear under the surface of the water," according to Ayub.
Ayub went on to theorize exactly how the pair got into such trouble: "There are a lot of currents on the lake that appear particularly in the afternoon. The idea perhaps being that the boat started drifting — it was unanchored — and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat but not enough to save herself."
She spoke with her dad just moments before the tragedy
A year after the drowning of Naya Rivera, her dad George Rivera revealed that she'd FaceTimed him just moments before the tragedy occurred. The grieving father, who was busy renovating his Knoxville home at the time, told People that he'd actually warned the "Glee" star not to go out swimming in Lake Piru with her four-year-old son Josey after learning of her intentions.
George explained, "I could see that the wind was blowing and my stomach was just cringing. I kept telling her, 'Don't get out of the boat! Don't get out of the boat! It will drift away when you're in the water.' I had this bad feeling that was just killing me." Unfortunately, their conversation cut out around the three-minute mark and Naya decided not to take the advice.
A heartbroken George added that he's still trying to come to terms with what had happened. "It's still pretty much a big blur of pain almost a year later," he shared. "Things are slowly coming a little more into focus, but I don't know if I'll ever find closure from this. I miss her every day."
Naya Rivera's family settled a wrongful death lawsuit
In 2020, Naya Rivera's ex-husband Ryan Dorsey filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ventura County on behalf of their son Josey following the tragic drowning of the "Glee" actor in Lake Piru. The "Yellowstone" star alleged that its parks and recreation department had been negligent in its lack of warning to visitors about the dangers of its waters.
Furthermore, the suit also accused the county of causing Josey emotional distress — the youngster, then just four, witnessed his mother disappearing under the water's surface — and failing to provide the necessary safety equipment. The attorney representing the Rivera family, Amjad M. Khan, later revealed that both parties had agreed to a global settlement.
Khan said in a statement, per NBC News, "Through this settlement, Josey will receive just compensation for having to endure the drowning of his beloved mother at Lake Piru. Though the tragic loss of Josey's mother can never truly be overcome, we are very pleased that the monetary settlement will significantly assist Josey with his life beyond this tragedy."
Further details about her death were revealed in an autopsy
An autopsy report on Naya Rivera's tragic drowning at California's Lake Piru revealed that the "Glee" star had several prescription drugs in her system. But the findings from the Ventura County Medical Examiner found that none of these contributed to her untimely death.
The actor was discovered to have a tiny amount of diazepam, the anti-anxiety medication, and phentermine, an appetite suppressant, in her system. The report also disclosed that Rivera had previously suffered from vertigo and had just recovered from a sinus infection at the time of the tragedy, and that she had declined a life jacket from the man who she rented the pontoon boat from — he insisted one be kept on board regardless.
But the most harrowing piece of information that emerged related to her final seconds. According to the coroner, Rivera had desperately shouted for assistance while hoisting her four-year-old son to safety. Josey Rivera reportedly "noticed the decedent put her arm up in the air and yelled 'help.' The decedent then disappeared in to the water."
She challenged Heather Morris about her eating disorder
Naya Rivera had always been frank about her own battles with eating disorders, revealing in her memoir, "Sorry Not Sorry," that she'd suffered from anorexia as a teen. And in 2022, Heather Morris revealed that she was once directly challenged by her "Glee" co-star over worries that she was developing one, too.
The actor, who played ditzy cheerleader Brittany S. Pierce, told podcast "And That's What You Really Missed" that the confrontation occurred as a result of her refusing to eat food in front of her castmates: "I had developed an eating disorder. I stopped getting my period. I was so in my head about food and what it was doing for me ... I can't remember exactly what she was saying, but she was approaching me about my eating disorder because I know she herself had eating disorders. And she was very open about it in her book. So she, of course, was the first to speak up about it."
Morris told Rivera that she didn't have a problem and the subject never came up again. But she remains grateful for having a friend looking out for her: "That's who she was. She was just always ready to talk about it. We're all like that now. It just takes that time and place in your life where you realize ... 'Life's too short.'"
If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).
Naya Rivera always nailed her lines
Naya Rivera might not have been the most prepared cast member of Ryan Murphy's musical drama "Glee" when it came to script reading. But according to co-stars Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale, she still put the rest of the New Directions gang to shame when it came to script reciting.
While reminiscing about Rivera on "Glee"-themed podcast "And That's What You Missed," the actors formerly known as Tina Cohen-Chang and Artie Abrams, admitted that they'd often be panicking over just two lines that they'd rehearsed countless times before. Rivera, however, would just rock up to the set, take a quick look at her dialog and reel it off word for word. "It was the wildest thing to actually witness," remarked Ushkowitz.
McHale joked that he had mixed feelings about Rivera's photographic memory: "It was really infuriating and also incredible to watch ... it was a gift that we got to be around every single day."
She wasn't the subject of Big Sean's break-up anthem
The same year that he split from Naya Rivera, Big Sean released a track which many interpreted as an unflattering riposte to the "Glee" star. But following the actor's tragic death, her former beau was keen to point out that "I Don't F*** With You" wasn't the diss that everybody believed.
Big Sean told Vulture that the track, which reached No.11 on the Hot 100, actually had Rivera's seal of approval: "I truly made the song and played it for her. She knew about it, and she liked it. We had a breakup that was very public, and we were young and we forgave each other and moved on from that."
Although the hitmaker insists that the song's message wasn't anti-Rivera, he still expresses regret at having recorded it: "If I would have known something this tragic would have happened, I would have never made the song." Big Sean also revealed that five years on, he's still struggling to process Rivera's death. As he wrote on Instagram, "I appreciate and cherish everything that ever happened between us for making me wiser and a better person. I'm still grieving and in shock, I can't believe this is real. I'm praying for you and your family and I know your watching over them and protecting them. Rest In Peace Naya."
Naya Rivera was the life and soul of the Glee party
As well as wowing her "Glee" castmates with her ability to recite pages of dialog at a moment's notice, Naya Rivera was also the star everyone called upon when they needed some cheer. Matthew Morrison, who played William McKinley High's glee club teacher Will Schuester, was just one of many who spoke fondly of his late co-star's zest for life in the wake of her tragic death in 2020.
In an interview with ET, Morrison said, "Naya was a huge bright light. I mean, she's someone who kind of kept us in stitches on set, like, she was always the one who is just so witty and just, like, always joking. On that show, it was difficult. We pulled long, long hours — like 16 to 18 hour days — and we needed that, that team morale, and she was always there to give us a good laugh."
Morrison, who worked alongside Rivera for six seasons of the Fox phenomenon, admitted he was still trying to come to terms with the fact he'd no longer hear her laughing again: "It's crazy saying 'was.' But she was a special person and my heart just goes out to that family who is grieving."
She was Dianna Agron's first Glee friend
As two of William McKinley High's most popular cheerleaders Santana Lopez and Quinn Fabray, Naya Rivera and Dianna Agron were initially kept apart from the geekier characters in the phenomenon "Glee." And as a result, they forged a friendship that remained strong until the former's tragic 2020 death.
During an appearance on podcast "Allison Interviews," Agron recalled how she and Rivera quickly became BFFs: "We were quite isolated because we weren't involved in the entire pilot. We had our very brief moments in the pilot, and everybody else was very involved in the singing, dancing, and all the rehearsals. So, she was my point person and we kind of instilled each other with confidence in those moments."
Agron went on to tell host Allison Kugel how much in awe she was of her fellow pom-pom shaker: "She was just very unique and special in the way she just carried herself with such confidence and certainty. If she believed in something, or in you as a person, she would always uplift those ideas. She was very, very strong in a way that I think I have adapted to moments in my own life that have been quite difficult ... She had that strength in spades. Any strength that I felt I had, she had ten times more of it."
Naya Rivera's son appears to be thriving
Josey Rivera went through an unspeakable tragedy at the age of only four when he watched his mother disappear under the surface of Lake Piru just seconds after she hoisted him to safety. But judging by the various updates posted by his father Ryan Dorsey in the years since, it appears as though the youngster is still thriving.
In a heartfelt Instagram tribute uploaded a year after Naya's death, Ryan wrote, "He's such a resilient strong kid. He misses you but knows he'll see you again, and the invisible string is something that's helped us out during this ever-evolving transition of your time with us on earth that was unfairly and for reasons we'll never understand cut short ... too soon."
Dorsey continued, "Fly high, Rest In Peace, knowing he's doing ok ... he's being raised right, and he's got a lot of family and people around him that love him, and you." The actor, who played Duquesne "Dime Bag" Baker on Showtime drama "Ray Donovan," has also kept his followers updated on several other Josey milestones including his kindergarten graduation and seventh birthday, something the boy celebrated by throwing the first pitch at a baseball game.
She was the only Glee actor to call out Lea Michele on set
Lea Michele suffered a major backlash in 2020 when several lesser-known "Glee" cast members called her out for acting like a diva on set. The multi-talent, who rather aptly played prima donna Rachel Berry in the musical dramedy, was accused of a number of micro-aggressions by the likes of Samantha Marie Ware and Dabier Snell.
But while speaking to podcast "Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino," another co-star, Heather Morris, revealed that there was only one person who'd spoken out against Michele for her behavior at the time. And it was her late friend Naya Rivera.
Morris confirmed that the stories circulating about the future "Funny Girl" lead were, indeed, true, yet "the only person who was honest about it was Naya." She added, "It was something that was very hush-hush on set." Morris, aka cheerleader Brittany S. Pierce, essentially went on to say she wishes she'd backed Rivera up: "We absolutely could have stepped up and gone to the Fox execs and said how we felt about the situation, and nobody really did. And so now we are living in a culture where it's acceptable to go do things like that, whereas I think many people were very scared."
Tahj Mowry wished he and Naya Rivera had reunited
You might not know that long before dating rapper Big Sean and marrying fellow actor Ryan Dorsey, Naya Rivera went out with another famous face. Yes, the "Glee" star had a childhood romance with "Smart Guy" lead Tahj Mowry after first meeting him as a young kid on an advertising campaign.
Following Rivera's death, Mowry — the brother of "Sister, Sister" stars Tia and Tamera — took to Instagram to share his grief about the individual he shared his first kiss with: "No woman has ever measured up what you gave me or how you made me feel. I've never liked to admit it but I have never stopped loving you. A part of me always wished for the day where God would bring us back together to be what we dreamt we could have been."
Mowry also revealed to E! News that their on/off relationship permanently changed to off just before Rivera got her star-making role as cheerleader Santino Lopez: "I think our last sort of breakup [was] in my early 20s, I think a little bit after that was when she got 'Glee' and I just remember seeing — it was one of those moments where you keep seeing your ex on billboards and you're like, 'Oh my gosh, I can't escape!'"
Naya Rivera didn't cause drama
Unlike (if reports are to be believed) other stars of high school music saga "Glee," Naya Rivera wasn't the kind of actor who made life on set miserable for others. You're certainly unlikely to find any accusations of her banishing castmates from the lunch table, that's for sure.
In one of the most glowing Instagram tributes paid to Rivera in the wake of her 2020 tragic death, Amber Riley revealed how there was a refreshing lack of ego around the Californian: "There was never competition, or shade, or intimidation with us. Just pure adoration and mutual respect. You deserved better. You were so much more than just this show. Your talent outshined us all so many times!"
Riley, who played New Directions' vocal powerhouse Mercedes Jones, also spoke about how Rivera was as intelligent as she was gifted: "I'm so mad the world will never see how high you could have soared. Her brain was brilliant. She was smart and as quick as a whip." The actor concluded her eulogy with the heartfelt words, "I've cried until my tear ducts have dried out, now it's time to celebrate the fact that us mere humans got to experience walking through life with an earth angel. Rest well. I pray you found the peace we all are searching for."