Former “Bachelor” contestant Josh Seiter has denied allegations he was behind Monday’s death hoax on his own Instagram page.
“Those are all ridiculous accusations made up by somebody with nothing better to do with their time,” he told EW via email.
“As a mental health advocate, issues of suicide are very sensitive for me. To suggest that I would orchestrate a death post around that issue is sickening. I have dedicated the last 8 years of my life blogging and raising awareness about mental health, and I will continue to do so. Regardless of what my detractors have to say,” he added.
One of the allegations came from another reality star who Seiter briefly dated, Monica Beverly Hillz of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” whose given name is Monica Dejesus-Anay.
In a lengthy statement on her own Instagram page, she wrote, “Everyone deserves grace, but unfortunately I can’t help but think that he was able to pull this stunt as a cisgender white man — acting like he was dead — when so many of my sisters and trans women of color have been brutally murdered this year and the same love and support isn’t show to them.”
On Tuesday, after Seiter reported he was alive and that his Instagram account had been hacked, Dejesus-Anaya told EW, “I’m happy he’s alive, I’m happy he’s here, but this is so infuriating to me.”
Seiter’s alleged hacking follows the confusing case of former social media child star Lil Tay, who resurfaced after her supposed death earlier this month to confirm she was still alive. She also blamed a hacker for posting a fake death announcement, allegedly from her family, which misidentified her age and real name.
A fake death rumor was also a plot point on a recent episode of the FXX series “Dave,” in which Lil Dicky’s character is presumed dead after a bus explosion.
