SPAT OVER FUND FOR DROWNED STAR’S SON
Eight months after Naya Rivera drowned in a California lake, her father and her former boss are trading ugly barbs on Twitter about “broken promises.”
After the actress’ July death, “Glee” producers Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan vowed to set up a college fund for her son, 5-year-old Josey.
But on Tuesday, Rivera’s father, George, claimed that Murphy was full of “broken Promises,” “fake outrage” and “hollow gestures.”
“When you are part of the Hollywood elite, some people treat others as they are ‘less than,’” Rivera tweeted.
“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.”
He also threatened to “blow up this story.”
Murphy had a different version. “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,” he tweeted Tuesday night. “We have been in repeated conversations with the appropriate executors of her estate.”
Rivera, who starred on “Glee” for six years as sassy cheerleader Santana Lopez, drowned at Lake Piru, near Santa Clarita, Calif., in July at age 33.
Officials believe she rescued Josey from the water, but was unable to pull herself to safety in time.
Josey’s father, actor Ryan Dorsey, has not weighed in on the skirmish between Rivera and Murphy.
In late January, he praised Josey for his strength.
“At such a young age, he’s endured more than anyone should at 5 years old. Without even fully realizing it, he lives the #keeppounding mantra every day with his (resilience),” Dorsey tweeted with a photo of Josey decked out in Carolina Panthers gear, using the NFL team’s slogan.
“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. To everyone that had a tough 2020...you will never forget it, we think about it every day and I feel for you and vibrate alongside you on that frequency...I hope you can find some way to go on with your days, to persevere — no matter how hard it is.”
Following news that the actress had died in the boating accident in July, Murphy, Falchuk, and Brennan released a joint statement.
“We are heartbroken over the loss of our friend Naya Rivera ... There were ups and downs during the wonderful and stressful years we spent making ‘Glee.’ We disagreed, we fought, we made up, then we fought some more, and then we made up again. The kinds of things that happen in a family. Naya was more than just an actor on our show – she was our friend.”
After her death, many of Rivera’s co-stars held a ceremony at the lake where she drowned to honor her.