Ryan Dorsey accused of revealing too much about Naya Rivera’s death: ‘Some things should stay private’

Ryan Dorsey’s latest statement about his late ex-wife, Naya Rivera, has not gone over well with fans online, who deemed his words inappropriate to share publicly — especially since they involved the trauma of their grieving son, Josey.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE magazine, the Justified actor spoke openly for the first time about his late ex-wife, Naya Rivera, who passed away in 2020. Dorsey discussed his own grief as well as that of his 9-year-old son, who was with his mother at the time of her passing. While the interview paid homage to Rivera, discussing their time together, her disappearance and eventual death, and even their divorce, not everything he said was well received by fans.

During the conversation, Dorsey recalled a heartbreaking exchange with his son, sharing that Josey — who was only 4 years old when his mother died — vividly remembers the incident and feels guilt over not being able to help her. “Something he’s said over and over is that he was trying to find a life raft, and there was a rope, but there was a big spider on the rope, and he was too scared to throw it,” Dorsey recalled. “I keep reassuring him, ‘Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be long enough.’ That obviously still sticks in his head because he feels like he could have saved her.”

Many netizens in the replies to Pop Crave’s X post found Dorsey’s comment insensitive, believing he should not have shared his son’s feelings of guilt over his mother’s death with the internet. “Can we maybe not share a child’s most traumatic event with the world? It’s heartbreaking that it’s something he had to deal with, but it’s not something we need to know… some things should stay private,” tweeted one fan.

Rivera’s disappearance on July 8, 2020, shocked the world. After going on a boating trip with her son to Lake Piru, in California, Naya and Josey reportedly ended up in dangerous waters. While the Glee actress managed to pull her son onto the boat, she lacked the strength to save herself, lacking a lifeguard jacket. Her body was recovered on July 13, 2020, identified by her father, and ex-husband, Dorsey.

In the rest of the interview, Dorsey also recalled the moment he received the call about Naya’s disappearance and the five agonizing days during which her family and friends had no news about her. “It was the worst five days of my life,” the actor said. “There was a fear — what if we don’t find her? It was just awful.” He continued, “If we had lost both Naya and Josey, I don’t know how I would have gone on with my life.”

In 2018, Dorsey and Rivera filed for divorce and amicably co-parented Josey until her death. Since Rivera’s passing, the actor has paid tribute to his late ex-wife multiple times on social media, often expressing how much he misses her, regardless of their divorce. “They say time heals all, but all is not grief. Doing the best I can for our JoJo Binx. As the time goes by, I’m often alone and sit and think. I think more of our better times,” Dorsey shared on Rivera’s birthday, January 12.