A social media influencer who shared photos of herself posing in front of her father’s open casket defended herself against criticism on Wednesday.
Jayne Rivera, 20, was wearing a fitted, black one-sleeve blazer dress as she posed for photographs in front of the casket of her father, Jose Antonio Rivera, NBC News reported.
Jayne Rivera, from Florida, posed with her hands clasped in prayer in one photograph, which did not fully reveal her father’s body but showed the casket adorned with an American flag, the network reported.
Jose Antonio Rivera died on Oct. 11 -- two days after his 56th birthday, NBC News reported.
“Butterfly fly away. RIP Papi you were my best friend,” Jayne Rivera wrote on Instagram. “A life well-lived.”
this Instagram model’s father passed away,,,, and she did a photo shoot with the open casket…. pic.twitter.com/u1EVNxaajz
— Mac McCann (@MacMcCannTX) October 26, 2021
Rivera told NBC News that she “understood the negative reception,” but said the photographs were taken “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,” Jayne Rivera said in a statement Wednesday. “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.”
Jayne Rivera said she posted the photos on Instagram the day they were taken, more than a week after her father died, NBC News reported.
The influencer also claimed that Instagram had disabled her account “with no reason given,” according to the network. She said she reached out to Instagram for “clarity,” adding that “no community guidelines were broken when the photos were published.”
Instagram did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Another Instagram account, under the name @jayne_riveraa, purportedly posted one of Jayne Rivera’s original photos.
Read more here.
©2021 Cox Media Group
