A grieving Jenna Dewan came under attack when she took to Instagram on Sunday, September 9, to mourn the loss of a loved one.
In the Instagram, Dewan, 37, revealed her best friend of 17 years, Nicole Pigeault, had died after a battle with cancer. “She was many things . . .my life coach, my healer, my angel and the purest soul I’ve ever known,” the World of Dance of Dance host captioned a post that included a video of white balloons being released into the sky.”
“Sorry for your loss but I really wish you had chosen another way to honor her. Releasing balloons is deadly to sea life and the environment in general,” wrote one person. Another expressed condolences but scolded the actress for honoring her pal with balloons which kill marine life and birds.” A third didn’t even show sympathy: “Do you know where balloons go??? Obviously they don’t go to heaven. Most of the time they land in the ocean so be an adult.”
Though Dewan has not responded to the trolls, plenty of fans came to her defense — and also shared their own heartbreaking stories about losing friends and family to cancer. “Ya’ll really going to comment about these freaking balloons when she is in a state of grieving? Ya’ll really wild and disgusting,” wrote one woman. Another blasted the cruel commenters by pointing out, “I do believe in appropriate times/places for conversations about subjects . . this just isn’t the right time.”
Last month, Dewan’s estranged husband, Channing Tatum, took to Instagram to mourn the loss of his “very first best friend” Corey Vaughn, who passed away on August 21. “Man there’s so much to say,” the Magic Mike star wrote at the time. “I’ll never forget his crazy ass and how he stuck up for and protected me when I first moved to Mississippi. He’d fought anybody. All the laughs and trouble we got in. I’ll never be able to see that smile of his again in this life.”
The former couple announced they were splitting in April after nearly nine years of marriage. They are parents of daughter, Everly, 5.
