A Florida woman who was called ‘disgusting,’ ‘trashy,’ and ‘despicable’ for posing for sexy Instagram photos in an ‘inappropriate’ black dress at her father’s funeral has vehemently defended the post.
Earlier this week, Jayne Rivera, 20, shared photos of herself earing a one-sleeve blazer mini dress with a plunging neckline, black tights, and tall heeled boots while striking poses right next to her father’s coffin.
The images quickly went viral on Reddit and Twitter, making international headlines as critics called her behavior shameful — but Rivera has insisted to NBC News that there was ‘nothing wrong with what I posted, and I stand by that.’
In fact, she said, her father supported her career as a ‘full-time influencer,’ so it made sense to include his dead body on her Instagram page.
OOTD: Jayne Rivera, 20, posed for photos at her father’s funeral. She wore a revealing black dress and took several snaps showing it off, with her deceased father visible behind her
Tacky: Reddit users have slammed her as ‘despicable,’ ‘horrific,’ ‘repulsive,’ and narcissistic
In the photos, Rivera looks far from bereaved, showing off her outfit while kicking up one heel, striking a faux-prayer pose, and offering a close-lip smile to the camera.
Her father, Jose Antonio Rivera, died on October 11 at age 56. He was a veteran.
A Redditor said that the original caption included a string of hashtags including #rip #papi #dadless #veteran #ptsd #funeral #neverforgotten, though a version screengrabbed later didn’t have the hashtag #dadless.
Comments poured in on social media telling Rivera to delete the post and blasting her for the inappropriate photoshoot.
But Rivera insisted that she took the photos ‘with the best intentions in a manner my father would have approved with had he still been alive.’
‘Everyone handles the loss of a loved one in their own ways; some are more traditional while others might come across as taboo,’ she said.
‘For me, I treated the celebration as if my father was right next to me, posing for the camera as he had done on many occasions prior.’
Standing by it: Rivera insisted that there was ‘nothing wrong with what I posted, and I stand by that’
Rivera said that she has spent eight years ‘building her audience’ on social media, and her dad had been featured on her account — so it made sense to her to include his funeral.
‘People are going to disagree, either way, and I’m used to it. I am a Rivera, and I know my dad is proud of me and how things turned out,’ she said. ‘He will not be forgotten.’
But the internet’s judgement has been fierce, with Reddito commenters laying the criticism on thick.
‘This b**** can’t even honor her own father, who fought for her country. It’s not just trashy, it’s disgraceful,’ wrote one.
‘The narcissism is unreal,’ wrote a second, while a third called it ‘cringe level 999.’
‘Trashy. These clout chasers are stooping to new lows. I also want to know what kind of people photograph this garbage. Why would you agree to take photo’s of someone in this type of situation,’ wrote one more commenter.
‘You know how a full blown addict could eff up their parent’s funeral by using right before the event and making a fool of themselves? Here, we have an addict — a dopamine addict. The vessel of choice is social media,’ posited another.
Rivera, who also posted video, said her dad supported her career as a ‘full-time influencer’ and would have approved
‘I treated the celebration as if my father was right next to me, posing for the camera as he had done on many occasions prior,’ she said
Yet one more noted: ‘On the one hand she has to be a despicable human being, on the other hand her dad probably raised her and is at least 50% responsible.’
Others called her ‘unhinged,’ ‘depressing,’ ‘trashy,’ ‘horrific,’ ‘repulsive,’ and ‘disgusting.’
Several argued that even if she hadn’t posed for the pictures, then posted them online for attention, it would still be ‘trashy’ because of how inappropriate her dress was.
‘That outfit is wildly inappropriate for the occasion,’ said one.
‘Imagine wearing something like that to a funeral,’ said another.
The backlash has been so strong that Instagram has since disabled her account, likely in response to multiple people reporting it.
However, Rivera insists that she didn’t break any community guidelines by posting the photos.