Josh Seiter came out as trans in spring 2024. Since then, the already polarizing The Bachelorette alum has received hate and death threats.
And not from the people you’d probably expect.
Of course, she was the target of a lot of anger before announcing that she’s transgender too.
But since coming out, Seiter has posted numerous videos and participated in interviews that critics say shows that she is a fake. Some believe that she is mocking the trans community. Others say that this is a case of a longtime grifter who plans to “detransition” and attempt to find success in conservative circles.
Her latest interview alleges that the LGBTQ+ community has been more hostile to her in recent months than any other group. But her comments could be adding fuel to the fire of criticisms that she has received.
With a lot to unpack, let’s dive in to the story as we know it:
Who is Josh Seiter?
In 2015, nine years before announcing that she’s trans, Josh Seiter appeared on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette. It was an ill-fated season, but had Bristowe not sent Seiter home more or less immediately, it might have been worse.
Following that small taste of what one could generously characterize as reality TV fame, Seiter began a string of both relationships and (very publicly) attempted relationships with reality stars.
Josh Seiter dated Love After Lockup alums Lizzie Kommes and Glorietta Besos. She went on to date 90 Day Fiance alums Yolanda Leakes and Karine Martins.
In addition to these romances, she also desperately attempted, through extremely public overtures, to date other reality stars.
After Sister Wives villain Kody Brown lost wives Christine Brown, Janelle Brown, and Meri Brown, Josh Seiter publicly hit on all three women. Then there were aggressive attempts to date 1000-lbs Sisters star Amy Slaton.
Thankfully, none of these women took the bait. Josh Seiter seemed to be a walking, talking bouquet of red flags.
And things just got worse from there.
Did Josh Seiter Fake a Suicide Announcement?
Obviously, Seiter’s desperate pursuit of reality stars, seemingly landing only the most gullible, was alarming on its own.
It suggested that Seiter was struggling with things like her sense of self-worth and perhaps hoping to hitch a ride to fame if she just got another 15 minutes of fame.
Amidst her mental health struggles came an alarming Instagram post — claiming that Josh Seiter had died by suicide.
Fortunately, the August 2023 post turned out to be a sick prank. Josh Seiter claimed that an Instagram hacker was responsible.
Though many people on social media, including Josh Seiter’s own ex-girlfriend, claimed that Seiter had orchestrated the hoax for attention, no one has been able to confirm this.
Josh Seiter came out as trans
In May of 2024, Josh Seiter announced to the world on Instagram that she is transgender. She adopted she/her pronouns and began appearing on social media, primarily TikTok, wearing makeup and a variety of dresses.
Given her history of outlandish behavior and given alleged “clues” in her videos, some on social media accused her immediately of lying. Some wondered if she was even mocking the trans community.
Others suspected that she was hoping to gain attention, by any means necessary, even the focus of hate groups and hate accounts. The results of this backlash, Josh Seiter says, have been devastating.
In a Monday, August 12 interview with The Daily Mail, Josh Seiter spoke about the negative reactions to her trans announcement.
“I’ve had death threats, people telling me they’re going to hang me, they can’t wait to see me so they can kill me,” she reported. “These are all messages I have in my [direct message inbox].”
It is not unusual for transgender people to receive bigoted backlash, from former loved ones and from strangers. However, in this case, Seiter says that anti-trans bigots are not the only, and perhaps not even the primary, source of hurtful messages.
“Ironically, I’ve actually found that the far left and the LGBTQ community have been some of the most vitriolic and mean towards me throughout all of this,” Josh Seiter alleged.
“So that’s a very tough issue for me,” she lamented. “Because I haven’t been met with acceptance, tolerance, and open arms like the left loves to preach about.”
That specific line had those who wondered if she was pulling another alleged hoax doubling down on their suspicions. Even without the hoax theory, bringing up a political angle is an odd choice. Could Josh Seiter be aiming to be the next Caitlyn Jenner — acting as a mouthpiece to condemn LGBTQ+ voices?
Truth be told, some of Josh Seiter’s critics are way out of line. Ignoring Seiter’s personal history for the moment, women — whether trans or cisgender — are welcome to dress and style themselves however they like.
There are concerns that Seiter is trolling or (once again) grifting in a way that can harm the trans community. But obviously, everyone should ensure that criticisms of Seiter are not themselves transphobic.
None of us can control what Josh Seiter does. However, adopting her updated pronouns is an easy thing to do and the only decent reaction. There’s no litmus test for pronouns.
