The contestant of 'America's Got Talent' season 4 and 12 has passed away following a struggle with Covid-19 while his father is hospitalized with a critical condition.
- Dec 4, 2021
AceShowbiz - Sad news comes from "America's Got Talent" family. One of the former contestants from both Season 4 and Season 12, Jay Jay Phillips, has passed away at the age of 30 after struggling with Covid-19. He was found dead at home on Thanksgiving holiday.
His family revealed to TMZ the aspiring rock star fell ill with the virus over Thanksgiving week. His condition got worse just one day before the Thanksgiving Day, but he refused to go to hospital when his family urged him to get help. He insisted he only needed more sleep.
The following day, he was found lifeless when his girlfriend and nurse mom checked in on him. He was unvaccinated when he died, but he reportedly planned to get the jab before he was sick.
Meanwhile, Jay Jay's father, whom he lived with, is fighting for his life in a hospital. He is placed on a ventilator.
Jay Jay's bandmate paid tribute on Instagram, "It is with great sadness we inform you all of the loss of our bandmate/brother/and friend @jayjayrocks. It still doesn't feel real and we would give anything to change it. Please respect the family, as well as our wishes as we take our time to grieve and process this detrimental loss."
"We miss you brother, every second of every minute, of every day. Thank you for teaching us all to laugh a little more. Rock in Paradise [love emoji]."
His close friend Seph Lawless told TheWrap, "His gf found him 5 days ago unresponsive in a fetal position died in his sleep. He was battling covid like so many quietly at home the only difference was his soul was larger than most and so we all knew he was struggling."
He also confirmed, "His father was recently hospitalized for covid as well. We are unsure how he is doing through all of this. JJ was only 30 and always seemed healthy to me decade I knew him, so this is a shock to most of us."
He honored the late musician on Twitter but was forced to remove it, "I deleted the tweet about Jay Jay after some anti-vaxxers started commenting it."
