EJ Johnson Breaks His Silence on Best Friend Lyric McHenry's Death

Reality star opens up about why he hasn't spoken about her passing

By Cydney Contreras Aug 27, 2018 11:47 PMTags
Lyric McHenry, EJ JohnsonInstagram

EJ Johnson is breaking his silence after the death of his friend, Lyric McHenry.

In the comments section of his Instagram, the reality star explained his decision not to address her passing, despite their close relationship. "I'm going to make this clear to everyone there will be no mourning post because I'm not going to reduce a 25yr friendship to 1 Instagram post," Johnson stated.

He continued, "Please respect my privacy and my process."

His statement comes after his EJNYC co-star's death on Aug. 14. Police confirmed the body of a 26-year-old female was found above the Major Deegan Expressway and while they said there were no obvious signs of trauma, an investigation into her death has since been opened. The NYPD told E! News they are waiting on the results of an autopsy to come back before they rule out murder.

photos
Celebrity Deaths: 2018's Fallen Stars
Splash News

The 26-year-old's death came after a night of celebration with her sister and friends in New York City. According to her Instagram Stories, Lyric partied at the The Frederick Hotel, SoHo Grand Hotel and Dream Downtown, in honor of her belated birthday.

Since then, her family has released a statement expressing their gratitude for "the many communications of support from Lyric's many friends." The statement read: "Despite the speculation in earlier reports, at this point in time the cause of Lyric's death has yet to be determined. In contrast, what is factual and known is that Lyric who just turned 26 last week on August 6, was a brilliant, creative and lovely young woman who shared a deep passion for writing, film and a long-standing commitment to social justice."

It continued, "She was a Christian who grew up in Los Angeles and attended the Center for Early Education and graduated from the Marlborough School in Los Angeles. Lyric graduated from Stanford University in 2014 where she studied in Paris, France for a year and spoke fluent French."

They concluded, "Lyric's warmth, compassion and energy will be missed by many and the family would appreciate that all speculation surrounding the circumstances of death cease until the real facts are determined during the current investigation by the NYPD and the City of New York.