Ex-‘Bachelorette’ Contestant Josh Seiter Victim of Death Hoax, Says Hacker Was Playing ‘Cruel Joke and Mocking My Mental Illness’

Josh Seiter, who appeared on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s 'Bachelorette' season in 2015, said, "I’m going to do all I can with my team to try to identify who is behind this."

August 29, 2023

Another celebrity has been the target of a death hoax.

This week, a statement announcing previous Bachelorette contestant Josh Seiter’s death was posted to his Instagram account. Now, the former reality star is claiming that his account was hacked.

“As you can see, I am alive and well,” Seiter said in a video posted to his Instagram. “My account was hacked. For the last 24 hours, I’ve been desperately trying 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 and I’m sorry for all the pain they caused when they made that post."

“I just got back into my account. I’m going to do all I can with my team to try to identify who is behind this. But again, I apologize for the confusion and I will update you guys as more facts come in. Thank you guys,” he continued.

The since-deleted statement about his death was posted on Monday, which read in part, "It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share the tragic news of Joshua's unexpected passing. As all who knew him can attest, Joshua was an incredibly bright light in an increasingly dim world."

Seiter appeared on The Bachelorette in 2015, during Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season, TMZ notes. He was eliminated in the first week. Since then, he’s been forthcoming with his followers about his mental health struggles, which include depression and anxiety.

Young social media star Lil Tay and her brother were also the victims of a death hoax hack earlier this month.