Josh Seiter’s ex Monica Beverly Hillz claims the “Bachelorette” alum faked his own death.
“I’m baffled, I’m angry,” the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star, 38, told Entertainment Weekly in a Q&A published Tuesday.
Monica, who does not believe Seiter’s account of being hacked, added, “I’m happy he’s alive, I’m happy he’s here, but this is so infuriating to me.”
Seiter, 36, for his part denied such speculation in a statement to the outlet.
“Those are all ridiculous accusations made up by somebody with nothing better to do with their time,” he said in part over 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.”
According to Monica, she and Seiter have known each other since 2013, when the former worked the club circuit as a drag performer and the latter worked as a go-go dancer.
“I would put heart faces on his stuff, he’d put heart faces on my stuff,” she said, adding that the two reconnected this month and quickly fell into a full-blown relationship — which they made Instagram-official.
“It wasn’t until I posted the first picture that everybody was blowing me up like, ‘Girl, run,’ and, ‘He’s a clout chaser,’ and we’d laugh about it, like, ‘People are calling you a clout chaser,’ so when I’d hear comments, I would ask him,” she said.
Monica then claimed that Seiter told her, “He’d tell me that he would plant … stories on his own.”
The two split on Aug. 22, per the drag queen, just days before Seiter’s “death” made headlines.
“He was up, down, inside out, that’s why when I heard that he passed away, I didn’t want to believe it, but in a sense I’m like, he’s not really all up there. He’s not, and I sensed that,” Monica said.
Speaking with EW, she went on to question why there is “no repercussion” for Seiter if he did, in fact, perpetuate false news of his own passing.
“Now he has his Instagram back so now he’s going to go back to what he’s doing, and nobody’s going to hold Josh accountable because, what? He’s a white, [cisgender] man,” she said.
“It really does bother me because trans women of color, people I know personally, are being attacked and murdered and nobody’s giving them the airtime they need, but Josh Seiter comes along and he’s in the news, he’s everywhere.”
Seiter posted a video on Instagram Tuesday afternoon claiming that a hacker was “playing a cruel joke and mocking” his mental illness and previous suicide attempts and apologized for the “confusion” the fake statement caused.
“I’m sorry for all the pain they caused when they made that post. I just got back into my account,” he said in his video.
“I’m going to do all I can with my team to try and identify who is behind this, but again I apologize for the confusion and I will update you guys as more facts come in.”
Seiter also removed the original death announcement from his grid, but didn’t explain why it took him a full day to address what took place.
The statement, purportedly written by his family, announced that he had died after years of mental health challenges.
“It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share the tragic news of Joshua’s unexpected passing,” the since-denounced statement read.
“As all who knew him can attest, Joshua was an incredibly bright light in an increasingly dim world. His fearless voice and indomitable spirit helped thousands of people in their darkest moments feel just a little less alone.”
Seiter — who briefly competed on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of “The Bachelorette” in 2015 — announced in July 2021 that he had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
