Bachelor Nation was in mourning Monday, as Josh Seiter, a contestant on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s 2015 season of The Bachelorette, was widely reported to have died.
Shockingly, though, Seiter himself resurfaced on Tuesday to set the record straight: a hacker, not his family, had shared those words.
“Hey guys, as you can see, I am alive and well,” said Seiter, who was eliminated in the first week of the show. “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. I am sorry for all the pain they caused when they made that post. I just got back into my account.”
How did so many people fall for this?
The announcement of 36-year-old Seiter’s “unexpected passing” came from a solid source: his verified Instagram account. A statement that was attributed to his family referred to him as an “incredibly bright light in an increasingly dim world.”
“Although our heartache at Joshua’s passing pains us beyond measure, we find comfort in knowing that he is finally at peace. We hope and pray that his spirit can continue to live on in the pictures and words on this page, which we will leave up for the time being,” the statement read.
Seiter, who listed his occupation on the show as law student/exotic dancer, has been open about his mental health struggles, including his dedication to and belief in therapy. And the post included the number to a suicide crisis hotline.
Even Shawn Booth, the eventual last man standing on Seiter’s season, appeared to believe his former castmate had died. According to Extra, someone from the show was speaking to Booth when news broke that Seiter was actually alive.
“That’s great news, obviously,” Booth said. “Wow, that’s insane, that’s absolutely crazy.”
He added that it was “a relief for everybody.”
Why does this keep happening?
Celebrity death hoaxes aren’t new to any of us; they’ve been around for decades, especially since the advent of the internet. Eddie Murphy, Celine Dion, Jim Carrey, Missy Elliott, Reba McEntire and so many other familiar names have dealt with them too. Earlier this month, child rapper Lil Tay and her older brother were reported to have died via an announcement on her verified Instagram page, only for Tay to resurface a day later and explain that the account had been hacked.
A fake death story often hinges on a specific event, such as a falling off a cliff or crashing a car, and spreads — quickly — at least in part because people want to “perform” their grief on social media, according to fact-checking website Snopes.
In Seiter’s case, he promised in that return to his account that he would keep followers updated on what he learned about what had happened.
“I am going to do all I can with my team to try to identify who is behind this but, again, I apologize for the confusion,” he said.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call 911, or call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
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