Influencer Says She Did 'Nothing Wrong' After Backlash Over Photoshoot In Front Of Dead Father's Casket

Social media influencer Jayne Rivera crossed over into mainstream pop culture notoriety this week… for all the wrong reasons.

The TikTok and Instagram media personality has created a HUGE backlash online after posting photos to her IG account showing herself posing… in front of her dad’s casket. Yes, really…

The Florida resident first went viral on Tuesday, after an observant Twitter user posted screenshots of Rivera posing in front of her father’s dead body laid out in the casket. As you can see (below), that tweet — which received more than 160,000 likes in its first 48 hours — shows two screenshots of Rivera posing in a cropped black suit-style dress with her deceased father lying behind her:

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

“Butterfly fly away… a life well lived,” Rivera wrote of her father, whom she also called her “best friend.”

That’s obviously very sad. But those pics, though. We honestly don’t know what to say! She’s really thinking about her IG following and posing at a time like this?? And the original tweeter didn’t even include the worst one!!!

In a reply to that tweet (above), another user identified what definitely appears to be the most out-of-touch influencer-style pic from the group Rivera originally posted:

You didn’t even show the worst one ???? you can see her dad’s crossed hands too ???? pic.twitter.com/AMuYGSor7q

— Apollo¹⁰²⁴ (@imtootalkative) October 27, 2021

Oh, come on! Seriously?!

Taking a picture with a deceased family member’s casket is a choice. Maybe there are people who want to have that memory documented, or whatever. Fine. We’re not gonna judge! People do unexpected things in times of grief, we get it. But we are gonna judge that side-turn pose that every influencer ever has worked to perfection, ideal for showing off the booty and getting fans to double-tap on social media, IN FRONT OF HER FATHER’S CASKET!! Come on!!!

If you’ve ever seen an influencer taking pics for the ‘gram, you also know they often take dozens to make sure they look perfect. Can you imagine seeing this girl voguing up a storm by the casket for 10 minutes??

This story gets even wilder because on Wednesday, one day after the Twitter backlash began, Rivera actually spoke to NBC News about the whole thing and DOUBLED DOWN on her influencer-style funeral. She told the outlet that while she “understood the negative reception” to the funereal photo shoot online, she wasn’t going to apologize for taking the pics!

Rivera said:

“There is nothing wrong with what I posted, and I stand by that.”

And she added:

“[I 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. 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.”

Hmmm… OK.

Instagram evidently thought differently, though, because her account has been taken down as of Thursday morning. According to Rivera, Instagram’s tech team disabled her account “with no reason given.” Here’s a hint: you posted a pic with a dead body. Rivera persists on TikTok, though, where she has more than 300,000 followers and over 2.8 million likes on her videos.

As you might already expect, Twitter users did NOT hesitate to share their opinions on this situation, and tweets replying to that initial pair of IG screenshots are still making viral waves days later. Here are just a few of the craziest, funniest, and most on-point responses to Rivera’s jaw-dropping funeral photo shoot:

“This is wrong on so many levels that I don’t know where to begin, especially this video. We all know everyone handles death differently BUT COME ON, turning it into an opportunity to make a sexy video for your web page is twisted and immensely disrespectful.”

“That’s enough internet for today”

“What is a funeral of [sic] not an opportunity to create content”

“I already see replies saying we shouldn’t judge etc. I am indeed trying to be a much less judgmental person. There are limits though. This… this I judge.”

“**dad dies** How can I make this about me?”

“I will HAUNT YOUR ASS if you do this at my funeral”

“An ‘Instagram Model’ is just a person taking pictures of themselves”

“Seeing Florida at top right explained a lot.”

“I love that [Rivera’s] not from a specific city or town in Florida it’s just… Florida.”