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Big Sean says Naya Rivera liked his song IDFWU, ‘it wasn’t a diss to her’

Rivera recently passed away in a tragic boating accident


Jovita Trujillo - Los Angeles
Senior WriterLos Angeles
SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 10:50 PM EDT

Big Sean is speaking out about his song “I Don‘t F*** With You” for the first time since the death of  Naya Rivera . The Glee star went missing on July 8th after her four-year-old son Josey was found on a rented boat in the middle of Lake Piru. Her body was discovered by authorities on July 13th.

Sean first broke his silence about her passing with a heartfelt Instagram post that read, “Rest In Peace Naya, God Bless your Soul! Thank you for blessing us all with your talent and presence. you are a hero! Not just because of how you saved your son, also because of the barriers you knocked down for so many people to make them feel confident in themselves and to stand tall and be proud when they couldn’t achieve that on their own. I appreciate and cherish everything that ever happened between us for making me wiser and a better person. I’m still grieving and in shock, I can’t believe this is real. I’m praying for you and your family and I know your watching over them and protecting them. Rest In Peace Naya 💙🙏🏾.”

Sean and Rivera were Hollywood’s it couple back in 2013 and were even engaged. Sean used his music to give praise and show the world that he was proud of his leading lady. But in April 2014 Sean called off the engagement following rumors that he had cheated on Rivera with Ariana Grande. Rivera wrote about the break up in her memoir and said, “I learned that I was no longer getting married from the internet, and at the same time as the rest of the world.” She continued, ”Not only were we no longer getting married, but apparently we weren’t even together anymore.” Five months after their break up Sean’s hit song “IDFWU” was released. The timing made it undeniable that the song was about Rivera. The song instantly blew up and you could always tell who hated their ex the most by who was screaming it the loudest at the club.

Sean has an upcoming album called Detroit 2 and in an interview with Vulture, the singer got candid about Rivera and his now infamous song. The interviewer asked Sean if he “regretted making ‘IDFWU,’ a song that many interpreted as being about [his] ex, the late Naya Rivera.” Sean answered truthfully and explained, ”That’s a tough question to answer because I’m still processing a lot of that. I don’t feel comfortable talking about it because I want to respect her. She’s made such an impact on people, and she’s done so many great things in her life and her career that it was hurtful to even have that [song] be associated with her.”

The musician then attempted to make it clear the song ”wasn’t a diss to her.” He said that Rivera even knew about the song and explained, “It wasn’t a diss to her. I truly made the song and played it for her. She knew about it, and she liked it.” Sean continued, “We had a breakup that was very public, and we were young and we forgave each other and moved on from that.” Sean’s album Detroit 2 will be released on September 4th.