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Naya Rivera's ex-fiancée Big Sean calls her a "hero" in touching tribute

Heather Morris also shared a tribute to her late friend.
  • 20 Jul 2020
Naya Rivera's ex-fiancée Big Sean calls her a "hero" in touching tribute

As Glee fans continue to grapple with the tragic and far-too-soon loss of actress Naya Rivera, whose death was confirmed last week, many of the star's friends and loved ones are also continuing to share their tributes to her. As well as the Glee cast's posts and the creation of a college fund for her four-year-old son, Josey, Rivera's ex Big Sean has also taken to Instagram to express his grief. 

The rapper and Rivera were previously engaged between 2013 and 2014, but ultimately went their separate ways. 

In an Instagram post on the weekend, Sean shared two photos of Rivera—one of her in black and white and another of her holding her son, Josey Dorsey.

"Rest In Peace Naya, God Bless your Soul!," he captioned the post. "Thank you for blessing us all with your talent and presence. you are a hero! Not just because of how you saved your son, also because of the barriers you knocked down for so many people to make them feel confident in themselves and to stand tall and be proud when they couldn’t achieve that on their own. 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 [sic] watching over them and protecting them. Rest In Peace Naya 💙🙏🏾."

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Rest In Peace Naya, God Bless your Soul! Thank you for blessing us all with your talent and presence. you are a hero! Not just because of how you saved your son, also because of the barriers you knocked down for so many people to make them feel confident in themselves and to stand tall and be proud when they couldn't achieve that on their own. 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 💙🙏🏾

The post comes after a bit of social media backlash that saw people criticising the rapper for a song he wrote in 2014. The song, called "IDFWU," was widely believed to be about Rivera and people in the rapper's Instagram comments felt the song was now "disrespectful."

That said, the pair apparently had no ill will between them. Rivera even playfully performed the song on Lipsync Battle back in 2018.

Rivera's co-star Heather Morris also shared her own post about her close friend. In two posts, one of the pair of them and the other a series of sweet pictures of their kids playing together, the actress remembered how incredible Rivera was as a person and a friend. 

"You constantly taught me lessons about grief, about beauty and poise, about being strong, resilient and about not giving a fuck (but still somehow respectful)," she wrote. "Yet, the utmost important lesson I learned most of all from you was being a consistent and loving friend. You were the first to check in, the first to ask questions, the first to listen... you cherished our friendship and I never took that for granted."

Morris and Rivera played Santana and Brittany, one of Glee's most beloved couple who were trailblazers when it came to queer relationships between women on TV. You can read her touching posts in full below.

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We started out as the closest friends and then like all new things, we went through a bit of a rocky phase. However, we stuck by each other's side and created the most beautiful friendship built out of love and understanding. The last I had the chance to see you in person, I had left oranges outside our home for you to take. I wanted to say hi through the window but my phone didn't ring when you called (which it never does, f*cking T-Mobile), so instead you and Josey left two succulents on our doorstep as a thank you. I planted those succulents and I look at them everyday and think of you. I still listen to your EP on repeat because from the moment I heard it, it struck me and I always wished the world knew more of your voice. You sent me over 5 dozen SnapChat videos when you and Josey woke up in the morning and I kick myself that I didn't save one of them. You always shared recipes and I admired your love for food. We vowed to spend every Easter together, even though Covid stole this last one from us. You are and always will be the strongest and most resilient human being I know, and I vowed to carry that with me as I continue to live my life. You constantly taught me lessons about grief, about beauty and poise, about being strong, resilient and about not giving a fuck (but still somehow respectful ). Yet, the utmost important lesson I learned most of all from you was being a consistent and loving friend. You were the first to check in, the first to ask questions, the first to listen..you cherished our friendship and I never took that for granted. We never took photos together because we mutually hated taking pictures...our relationship meant more than proof. I have countless pictures of our babies playing, because we shared that kind of pride and joy. So I'm showing the world a photo of our little goof balls for you, because I know that meant more than anything and they remind me of you and I. I speak to you everyday because I know you're still with me and even though I'm feeling greedy that we don't get more time together, I cherish every moment we had and hold it close to my heart.
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The messages are going to trickle out. But you're still here with me. And I'm not done remembering your legacy. You would tell me "you look so skinny" EVERY TIME you saw me and it made me giggle slash I loved it and when I told you how it made me feel...you said "well I'd always like to hear that I look skinny so I make sure to make others feel good like that." We had a play date in the works for this week and I can't wait for it to be over so I can stop thinking about how I missed our chance to be together. I fucking loved how you drank martini's and no one would know you smoked cuz you were a mastermind at hiding it. I'm doing something everyday to honor your strength and it helps me to feel close to you. I love you Nay

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