‘Prayers’ for missing star as ‘Glee curse’ strikes again

Hollywood stars have taken to social media to express their devastation at the shock disappearance of former Glee star, Naya Rivera.

The 33-year-old actress is missing feared dead after she jumped into a Southern California lake on Wednesday (local time) and did not resurface.

It is the latest in a series of tragedies to hit the cast of the popular show.

The star's young son Josey Hollis Dorsey was found alone on a boat on Lake Piru, in Southern California.

Demi Lovato was among the celebrities to hold out hope for the star's return, asking her 87 million Instagram followers to "pray for Naya Rivera to be found safe and sound".

Rivera's former Glee co-star Heather Morris said: "We need all the prayers we can get to bring our Naya back to us … we need your love and light."

Fellow Glee star, Harry Shum Jr, who played Mike Chang, wrote "praying", as Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins) and Max Adler (David Karofsky) also posted concerned messages on social media.

Rivera's ex-fiancee Big Sean didn't comment directly on the tragedy but liked a series of tweets praying for her safety and demanding that the search for her should continue.

Zack Teperman, a publicist who said Rivera was "one of the first people I had the honour of working with", said he was "in complete disbelief and shock right now".

"Was just messaging Naya a few weeks back. This can't be true. Prayers for her little boy," he said last night.

Rivera's four-year-old son was found in a vessel that the star had rented shortly before 1pm, local time (6am AEST).

TMZ reports that Josey told police Rivera had "jumped into the water but didn't come back up".

US authorities, who believe Rivera "presumed drowned", resumed the search for the actress on Thursday morning (local time).

Captain Eric Buschow, a spokesman for the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, told the Ventura County Star that authorities were "searching for a body".

Some reports said Rivera's possessions including a purse, wallet and food were found on the boat. Another wallet is said to have been left in Rivera's car, a Mercedes G-Wagon which was still parked in a nearby car park.

A search and rescue dive team and a helicopter with a drone were both dispatched to the lake, around 100km northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Only a day ago, Rivera had shared a picture of herself and Josey, writing, "Just the two of us".

Last week, the star wrote that we must appreciate life "no matter the year, circumstance, or strife, everyday you're alive is a blessing. make the most of today and every day you are given. Tomorrow is not promised."

POPULAR SHOW 'CURSED'

The popular Hollywood TV series has been hit by a string of tragedies, scandals and heartbreak, spanning the deaths of multiple cast members under tragic circumstances, criminal charges, and a recent tabloid controversy involving the show's main star, Lea Michele.

The so-called Glee curse seemingly began in 2013 with the sudden death of Cory Monteith - who played Finn Hudson - from an accidental alcohol and heroin overdose.

Monteith's death, aged 31, in a hotel room in Vancouver, was written into Glee via an episode titled "The Quarterback", though the show never revealed how his character died.

In 2017, Rivera's ex-boyfriend, Mark Salling - who played the character of Noah "Puck" Puckerman - pleaded guilty to child porn possession charges.

He was found to have downloaded thousands of illicit images over eight months in 2015.

And in 2016, the New York Post reported that a woman had accused Salling of forcing her to have sex with him at a hotel four years prior.

He was not charged with rape, as the LA County district attorney cited a delay in reporting the attack and insufficient evidence, according to the New York Post.

Salling killed himself in January 2018, aged 35, while he was awaiting sentencing on the child pornography charges.

In her memoir Sorry Not Sorry, Rivera - who played Santana Lopez - revealed: "When Mark dumped me, I thought it was the worst thing ever, but can you imagine if that didn't happen?"

"And I was laying there in bed when the battering ram came through the door?" she said, referring to his arrest.

Rivera also wrote in the tell-all that she had no regrets about her past relationships: "Unless, of course, that relationship was with someone who had a sizeable stash of child porn on his computer. Then, by all means, regret everything".

Last month, Michele - who played Rachel Berry in the series - was the subject of a huge gossip scandal, with multiple co-stars accusing her of on-set bullying and diva-like behaviour.

Former Glee guest star Samantha Ware blasted star Michele, 33, on Twitter, saying she made Ware's time on the show "a living hell".

She accused Michele of "traumatic" behaviour including threatening to "sh*t in my wig", in response to Michele's tweet supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

"While I don't remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or colour of their skin, that's not really the point," Michele said, in a poorly-received apology on social media.

"What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people."

The scandal promoted a string of other former co-stars to make similar accusations against Michele, who is pregnant with her first child, causing her to be sacked from social media endorsements.

Michele was also said to have had a feud with Rivera on the set of Glee, though Rivera wrote in her memoir: "I don't hate Lea, and I never have".

"She had a hard time separating work from our outside friendship, whereas it was a lot easier for me," Rivera wrote.

"Lea was a lot more sensitive, though, and sometimes it seemed like she blamed me for anything and everything that went wrong."

Originally published as 'Prayers' for missing star as 'Glee curse' strikes again