Influencer Blasted for ‘Insensitive’ Photo Shoot In Front of Open Casket

Everyone has different feelings about propriety and what’s appropriate in public situations, and grief has no real rules. Everyone grieves

Casket

Everyone has different feelings about propriety and what’s appropriate in public situations, and grief has no real rules. Everyone grieves differently, so there should be understanding when sometimes people grieve a little strangely, right? The internet is in an all-out war over an influencer and Only Fans model who may have grieved publicly in a way some consider a bridge too far for respect. Others say it’s a difference in cultural practices and a person’s individual grieving process. So which is it? CELEB takes a look at the internet furor of the week along with influencers who have definitely taken it too far in a bid to get attention. 

Funeral Photo Shoot – Too Far?

Casket

Instagram and Only Fans model Jayne Rivera caused a stir when she shared a picture on Instagram of herself wearing a playful – and dare we say sexy – drop-shoulder black dress. But it wasn’t the outfit that caused the buzz, it was the fact that the model stopped to snap pics in front of the open casket of her father. In the photos, Rivera is posed in a mostly-innocuous photo facing the camera, with a touch of smolder. Most people would find it an odd locale, but probably not egregious. Photo number two however has drawn some ire. In the second photo, Rivera strikes a sexy pose, leg lifted up and away from the camera across her body, glancing down across her shoulder in an undeniably sexy pose. In the background you can see her dead father’s hands peeking out from around her back side.

Weird? Absolutely. Insensitive? The internet is divided. Some suggest that because she’s from Florida, it’s par for the course, which is probably fair to say. People have accused her of being insensitive and disrespectful, saying it’s “weird” to pose seductively in front of your dead father’s body. Which is also a fair thing to say. 

Others suggest that maybe she just wasn’t thinking clearly. Grief can do funny things, and sometimes you’re just focused on being normal. For an Only Fans model, sometimes taking every opportunity to snap a beautiful pic is normal – and maybe you don’t think about the background. However, Rivera did add the caption, “Butterfly, fly away. RIP, papa. You were my best friend. A life well lived.” Rivera’s late father was also apparently a veteran, which explains a lot of the strong reactions people displayed.

DNA reports per MSN, “The series of eight pictures, which are no longer available on her Instagram account, invited various reactions from people who called the whole act ‘vile’, ‘disgusting’, and ‘sick’.

The funeral photo shoot did not go down well with her followers who flooded her comments section and called her out for the ‘disrespectful’ act. Even after being at the receiving end, she did not take down the posts until her act triggered the Internet at large.

Soon after people took it upon themselves to morally educate her, she had lost a chunk of her followers on Instagram. It is also reported that Jayne also has 300,000-plus TikTok followers. Most of her posts and pictures are around fashion, travel, and swimwear.”

Influencers Who Bid for Attention and Fall Flat

Logan Paul

Wherever you stand on Rivera’s actions – understandably questionable display of grief or insensitive grab for attention – there is certainly a history of influencers making stunts to get noticed. CELEB takes a look at some of the most shocking:

  • Model shares photo of herself wearing underwear and gazing across a rice field captioned, “Thinking about how different my life is from the man picking in the rice field every morning.” While influencer Natalie Schlater says everyone misunderstood her intentions, people blasted her anyway for being entitled and self-absorbed.
  • Back in 2014, before influencers were the phenomenon they are now, one Twitter account drew rage after posting a pic of herself smiling at Auschwitz – you know, the Nazi concentration camp where over a million European Jews were murdered horrifically. She even included a smiling emoji in the caption. But lest anyone thinks she was horrified to be misunderstood and immediately apologized, never fear – she was completely unapologetic. The user, Breanna Mitchell, joked about being famous and eyerolled over people tagging her picture to blast her for smiling, saying she was just happy that day. Sure, but Breanna – there’s a time and place for chipper. 
  • Belgian couple Camille and Jean were blasted for sharing a photo of themselves kissing while hanging precariously off the side of a moving train high above the forest floor on a cliff face on a bridge. Unfortunately, their ill-thought-out kiss has inspired others to try, prompting the internet to beg influencers not to be such, well, bad influences. 
  • And lest we save the best – or worst? – for last, there’s Logan Paul. Once a Vine superstar, influencer Logan Paul drew more than gasps when he shot a video of himself in a seemingly picturesque forest in Japan. Insider per Yahoo! reports, “Logan solidified his title of the less problematic Paul sibling early on in their careers. That was until January 2018, when he received intense backlash for filming what appeared to be a dead body while exploring the Aokigahara forest in Japan, and uploaded the video to his channel where millions of children could watch it. What is now colloquially known as the ‘Suicide Forest video’ has been cemented into YouTube lore, and is widely regarded as one of the worst major influencer stunts in YouTube history. It was a significant blow to Paul’s career, that had only been going upwards beforehand. He lost a forthcoming YouTube show, and several deals with brands and advertisers.” While Paul seems to have mostly recovered and returned to public life, he will forever be linked to that horrifyingly insensitive bad choice. But it got attention – so maybe that’s the point. 

Influencer Culture, is it Toxic or Inspiring?

All of this begs the question: is influencer culture a positive force for society, or a negative one? On first instinct, most people would agree that influencer culture – with its embracing of fast lifestyles and questionable choices – may be turning a generation of impressionable kids into bad decision makers with little empathy. 

There’s certainly data that backs up the harm that social media and influencers can cause to the self image and mental health of teenagers, as evidenced by recent Congressional testimony from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. But is there anything good in all of it? Sure, there can be.

There are influencers out there who take their roles responsibly and who do their best to be good role models. They speak out for social causes and try to encourage kids to love themselves and be confident. Unfortunately, these influencers often stand out because they’re different from the norm. Society will eventually have to reckon with the rise of the mega-influencer and decide what sort of media they want their children consuming – that does ultimately lie with parents. But it does behoove influencers to at least try to be better – and maybe stay away from the World War II memorials and dead bodies. 

Share: 
Tags: