Josh Seiter is calling for radical change on The Bachelorette.
“It’s great that The Bachelor franchise is finally casting a more diverse group of people (it took long enough) but real progress has not been made until they cast a trans woman lead,” Seiter, 37, shared via her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, August 13.
Seiter, who competed for Kaitlyn Bristowe’s affections on The Bachelorette season 11 in 2015, came out as transgender in May.
Earlier this week, Seiter opened up about receiving death threats since coming out.
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“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,” the Bachelorette alum said in an interview with the Daily Mail published on Monday, August 12. “These are all messages I have in my [direct message inbox].”
“I feel like everyone always has an opinion. Usually, it’s bad. Usually, the people voicing the opinion have a horrible opinion,” Seiter added, explaining that she is used to dealing with negative comments online.
“I don’t take life advice from people screaming at me on social media. That’s just never how I’ve lived my life,” Seiter said. “When I was a male stripper, people were saying nasty things about me. When I did OnlyFans, people said nasty things about me.”
Seiter said what has surprised her most since coming out is the lack of support she feels she’s received from the LGBTQIA+ community.
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“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,” she claimed. “So that’s a very tough issue for me because I haven’t been met with acceptance, tolerance and open arms like the left loves to preach about.”
Seiter came out as transgender in May via an emotional Instagram post. “I have struggled with my gender identity — and resulting feelings of guilt and shame — for as long as I can remember. I spent the last three decades taking great pains to keep this side private,” Seiter wrote at the time. “I felt I had no choice, given my upbringing in a strictly religious, conservative family. As I’ve gotten older, I have tried my hardest to project the expected image of a strong, masculine son and brother.”
