Calling the experience 'a crazy 48 hours,' the reality TV star insists that he wasn't behind the fake death post on his Instagram page and isn't bothered if people don't trust him.
- Aug 31, 2023
AceShowbiz - Josh Seiter has addressed questions surrounding his death hoax. One day after clarifying that he's still alive despite the announcement on his Instagram page, the former contestant on "The Bachelorette" responded to allegations, particularly by former "RuPaul's Drag Race" contestant Monica Beverly Hillz, that he faked his own death.
Speaking to Extra, Josh first said of his current state of mind, "I'm doing good all things considered." He added, "Glad to be here, glad to be alive, glad that everyone knows that I'm alive, but it has been a crazy 48 hours."
He then explained his relationship with Monica, who was reported to be his ex by some media outlets, "This person that is being very vocal, I hung out with them three times over a one-and-a-half-week period and now they're coming out... and a lot of press is saying she's my ex, she's not my ex, I barely know her... So I think attention attracts attention... and it is attracting the wrong kind of people."
The exotic dancer flatly denied that he orchestrated the death hoax, claiming, "I understand there are going to be negative things about me, but to the people with legitimate concerns and legitimate detractors of mine who think or allege that I was behind it, all I can say is the truth, which is that I wasn't."
"If they want to choose to believe, that is up to them," he added, "but I can't control other people and I don't live my life trying to force people to believe me or like me or love me, so all I can do is just speak the truth. But if they don't believe me, it does not bother me."
Josh went on recalling that he found out his Instagram account was hacked "sometime late Monday." On why it took him a long time to debunk the false statement, he said, "And so it was at that moment that I made it a priority to get back into my account, and that was what I dedicated the next 18 hours doing."
The 36-year-old believes it was a targeted attack, explaining, "I'm used to getting hateful messages and having people say horrible things, so this was definitely a targeted attack on me, I feel, based on the nature of what was posted, and I feel like it was mocking, directly mocking, the issues I struggle with and I just found it pretty disgusting."
As to whom he thinks targeted him, he said, "I have a lot of people that dislike me, I get a lot of hateful messages... I don't know how many thousands upon thousands of people from Instagram that could have been behind this... There are some crazy people out there so, honestly, I have no clue who could have done it. It could have been anyone who dislikes me and anyone who wanted to play a cruel joke."
Josh said he didn't go to police because "that never even entered the landscape of my mind." Not seeing himself as a celebrity, he added, "I don't think their top priority at the police station is helping Josh get into his Instagram account, so I'm grateful we were able to do it."
He also said that he hasn't filed a report with Instagram. "I haven't filed a claim with Instagram; I don't know what exact procedure I would take since I'm back in my account," he admitted. As to how he took back control of his account, he shared, "I don't know the ins and outs of it. I have a couple people who are pretty technically savvy helping me... I changed my password, but I don't know why I was locked out or what happened."
In an interview with TMZ, Josh apologized for the unnecessary pain caused by the fake post. "I'm sorry, I'm not perfect. I guess I could've done something, beside getting on Instagram to try to prove that I was alive. But, I haven't had experience with this," he said.
"I did the best I could. And, I'm sorry for everyone that was hurt by this person. I'm a victim. And there victims also," he reminded. "It's sad, there were tributes going up, but I'm not to blame for that."
When responding to criticism over his family's "puzzling" responses to inquiries about the heartbreaking post, Josh claimed, "My family is fractured. We're estranged."
The fake death post was uploaded on Josh's account on Monday, August 28. On Tuesday, the contestant in Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of "The Bachelorette" said that he's "alive and well" and that his "account was hacked."
Monica, who had posted a tribute before his clarification, later accused him faking his own death. "I'm happy to hear he's alive, but I'm so angry at the situation," she wrote. "It's infuriating that so many people who care about Josh have been deeply effected by this."
She went on to say that "everyone deserves grace," but she couldn't help thinking about that fact that Seiter "was able to pull this stunt as a cisgender white man" 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 shown to them."
