Josh Seiter, 36, is denying that he had anything to do with the death hoax that occurred on his Instagram account this week. The former Bachelorette star said it took him 18 hours to announce he is alive and well because his main priority was finding out who put up a fake statement announcing his fake passing. “I’m not a celebrity, at least, in my mind. I’m not famous. I don’t have a team that puts out statements,” he told TMZ, in an interview about the hoax.
Josh also described himself as a “victim” of the insensitive hoax and apologized for taking almost a day to confirm he was okay. “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,” he explained. “But, I haven’t had experience with this.”
“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 continued. “It’s sad, there were tributes going up, but I’m not to blame for that.”
Josh’s latest statements come after his ex-girlfriend Monica Beverly Hillz accused him of being part of the hoax. In a statement she released on Aug. 29, she wrote that she was “happy to hear” that Josh is alive, but she’s “so angry” about what he allegedly did. “It’s infuriating that so many people who care about Josh have been deeply effected by this,” Monica wrote at the beginning of her statement, before saying she thinks he was “able to pull this stunt as a cisgender white man.”
Josh’s followers were shocked and saddened over what they thought was a legitimate death announcement on his social media page, earlier this week. There was immediate speculation that the “death” had to do with his mental health struggles, which he has been very open about over the years, and tributes started being posted all over Instagram and beyond. Eighteen hours after the death statement went up, Josh posted a video that assured he was alive and well.
“As you can see, I am alive and well,” he said in the video. “My account was hacked. For the last 24 hours, I’ve been trying desperately to get into it. Somebody was playing a cruel joke and mocking my mental illness and the struggles I’ve gone through with depression and suicide attempts.” He further apologized for the “confusion” and revealed he was looking into who was responsible for posting the false statement.