Josh Seiter swears he had nothing to do with the death announcement posted to his Instagram account earlier this week.
“I didn’t fake my death, and I never would,” the “Bachelorette” alum — who competed on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season in 2015 — tells Pvnew Wednesday, reiterating that he’s “a victim of a hack.”
On Monday, a statement purported to be written by Seiter’s family appeared on his verified Instagram page, explaining that the reality star had died suddenly at the age of 36.
“It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share the tragic news of Joshua’s unexpected passing,” the 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.”
The post further claimed his loved ones were able to “find comfort knowing that he is finally at peace.”
“We hope and pray that his spirit can continue to live on in the pictures and words on this page, which we will leave up for the time being,” the statement continued.
It concluded with a request for “privacy” and the encouragement for anyone “who is experiencing a mental health crisis” to reach out for help.
A cause of death was not mentioned; however, Seiter has long struggled with his mental health, as he lives with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
The following afternoon, Seiter shocked the masses by deleting the Instagram post and uploading a selfie video in which he assured everyone that he is “alive and well.”
Seiter claimed his account had been “hacked for the last 24 hours” by someone “playing a cruel joke and mocking” his mental illnesses and previous suicide attempts.
The Chicago native apologized for “all the pain” and “confusion” the alleged hacker had caused and insisted he would be working with his team to “try to identify who was behind this.”
He promised to “update” his fans “as more facts come in.”
But not everyone was buying the story. In fact, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Monica Beverly Hillz accused her former romantic partner of orchestrating the death hoax himself.
“I’m baffled. I’m angry. I’m happy he’s alive, I’m happy he’s here, but this is so infuriating to me,” she told Entertainment Weekly on Tuesday night, claiming the pair rekindled their relationship earlier this month and made it Instagram official the weekend of Aug. 12-13.
Hillz, 38, said she was immediately warned to “run” by people who referred to Seiter as “a clout chaser” and claimed he ended up breaking up with her last week.
Seiter, for his part, tells us he finds her comments “offensive and disgusting.”
“Me and Monica hung out a grand total of three times over a week and a half,” he claims. “I barely know her.”
Seiter insists that the drag performer is “not [his] ex” and accuses her of “trying to milk her tenuous connection to [him] for all it’s worth.”
He adds, “She’s clearly desperate for attention … and it’s laughable.”
Reps for meta, which owns and operates Instagram, did not immediately respond to Pvnew’s inquiry regarding a possible investigation into Seiter’s claim that he was hacked.
