Lea Michele deactivates Twitter account following Naya Rivera's disappearance

'No one owes anyone online a performance of grief'
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Megan C. Hills13 July 2020

Glee star Lea Michele has deactivated her Twitter account, following a reported rise in harassment after the disappearance of her co-star Naya Rivera. While Michele gave no explanation for the sudden deactivation on Saturday, users speculated it was because Michele was being subjected to abusive messages including tweets that it ‘should’ve been you instead.’

Michele’s Instagram account remains active, where some users have also expressed disappointment that Michele has not made a public statement about Rivera’s tragic disappearance.

News of Rivera’s disappearance emerged last Wednesday when her four year old son was discovered by himself in a boat on Lake Piru and officers have since said Rivera was presumed dead.

Lea Michele (Getty Images )
Getty Images

Some users have since come to Michele’s defense, with one writing, “Lea Michele deactivated because people were commenting on her posts 'it should've been you instead of naya' y'all are f**king sick.”

Another user wrote, “Lea Michele has deactivated her twitter due to be being trolled about Naya Rivera. Has she behaved badly in the past? Yes. She's owned it and is trying to be better. She's also pregnant. Is it her fault that Naya's missing? No. I'm sure she's as upset as the rest of the Glee cast.”

The pregnant star has been the subject of controversy recently, after former co-stars alleged Michele had engaged in abusive behaviour on set: beginning with former co-star Samantha Ware saying Michele had reportedly subjected her to “traumatic microaggressions” after Michele posted in support of Black Lives Matter.

Michele has not posted anything to Instagram since June 3, when she posted a statement saying she has “never judged others by their background or colour of their skin” and apologised “for my behaviour and for any pain which I have caused.”

Michele’s co-star Amber Riley tweeted seemingly in support of Michele on Sunday, a day after her account was deactivated. Although she did not mention Michele by name, she wrote, “Show some respect. All our energy is going toward helping find Naya and praying for her safe return and for her family.”

“No one owes anyone online a performance of grief. This is very real and devastating. Focus on Naya and her family. Not us. We don’t matter right now,” Riley continued.

The search for Rivera continues on Lake Piru, with the Ventura County Police Department revealing they were using “sophisticated sonar equipment” to search underwater. Speaking at a press conference, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Kevin Donoghue said, “There’s a lot of trees and plants and such that are under the water that can cause entanglement. Makes it unsafe for divers and a complicated search.”

“We have experts who have dove this lake who know it inside and out, where debris pockets might be, we’re relying on their expertise to help us in that endeavour. We’re going to do everything we can to find her,” he continued.

Naya Rivera and son Josey Hollis Dorsey at a movie premiere in California
AFP via Getty Images

Rivera’s co-star and close friend Heather Morris tweeted yesterday at the Ventura County Sheriff’s official account that she was “trying to conduct an on foot search and rescue mission along with a small group of friends at Lake Piru.”

“I understand your team is doing EVERYTHING in their power, but we are feeling helpless, powerless and want to help in any way,” Morris tweeted.

Morris later revealed that she had since decided to “hold off on the citizen search and rescue until we get the go”, as she had spoken with Sheriff Eric Buschow.

She explained, “If you’re not highly trained in search and rescue, this could end up a much more dangerous situation for everybody involved.”

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