Josh Seiter is declaring himself a “victim” after his ex-girlfriend and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Monica Beverly Hillz accused him of faking his own death for clout. The former Bachelorette contestant — who claims his Instagram was hacked when a false statement announcing his death was posted to his page earlier this week — insisted he had other priorities bigger than correcting the hoax.
After the false announcement was posted, Seiter went a full 18 hours before assuring his followers that he was “alive and well.” In a new interview with TMZ, he explained why he didn’t clear everything up sooner.
“I’m not a celebrity. I’m not famous — at least in my mind,” he told the outlet. “I don’t have a team that puts out statements or knows how to do stuff like that. I was at home, I wasn’t able to get into my account, I was working desperately and dealing with 1,000 things — people messaging me, people calling me.”
He added, “My priority was getting back into my Instagram account, which, I didn’t know when that would happen. But working on that as my No. 1 priority and then dealing with the stress of it all, it was just overwhelming.”
The model then revealed that he’s “estranged” from his family — which could likely be why most of TMZ’s calls to them were either hung up on or given “no comment.” In light of the messy situation, Seiter reiterated that he’s making “no apologies for it.”
“I know I’m gonna have haters and detractors that don’t like how I handled it,” he said. “I’m sorry I’m not perfect. I guess I could’ve done something besides getting on Instagram to try to prove that I was alive but I haven’t had experience with this and I did the best I could.”
He continued, “I’m sorry for everyone who was hurt by this person. I’m a victim and they’re victims also. And it’s sad that there were tributes going up — but I’m not to blame for that. I’m a victim too.”
Seiter’s death was first called into question by Monica — whom he briefly dated earlier this month. While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, she said there’s “no way in hell” that his account got hacked, before referring to him as a “sick motherfucker” who could have asked her to release a statement confirming that he’s alive.
“He didn’t do shit, sat back, and got off on everybody freaking out and going through a thing. It’s sick in the fucking head,” she said, before later adding, “He was watching all of this and knew it got out of hand … I’m over here crying, I hadn’t slept, crying every two minutes thinking that this is happening, and the entire time, this man is alive getting off on all of this shit.”
Seiter later denied Monica’s “ridiculous accusations” in an email to the outlet.
“As a mental health advocate, issues of suicide are very sensitive for me,” he wrote. “To suggest that I would orchestrate a death post around that issue is sickening. I have dedicated the last 8 years of my life blogging and raising awareness about mental health, and I will continue to do so. Regardless of what my detractors have to say.”
If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 988.