​Family Of ‘Zombie Boy’ Rick Genest Believe Death Was Not Suicide

The family of Rick Genest - who was found dead in his apartment in Montreal on Wednesday - have said that they believe his death was not suicide.

Genest had reportedly fallen from a balcony inside his home in Plateau-Mont-Royal after telling his girlfriend that he was going for a cigarette. After medics failed to revive him, he then died at about 5pm. Canadian authorities and Lady Gaga (whose 'Born This Way' video Genest had starred in) have stated that the death was suicide.

Paying tribute to her friend and former collaborator, Lady Gaga wrote on Twitter: "The suicide of friend Rick Genest, Zombie Boy is beyond devastating.

"We have to work harder to change the culture, bring Mental Health to the forefront and erase the stigma that we can't talk about it.

"If you are suffering, call a friend or family today. We must save each other."

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In a later tweet, she added: "Science tells us that it takes 21 days to form a habit, if you are suffering from Mental Health issue I beckon for today to be your first day or a continuation of the work you've been doing.

"Reach out if you're in pain, and if you know someone who is, reach out to them too."

However, Genest's family believe that his death was, in fact, not suicide, and that he had actually fallen to his demise by accident.

"For us, the family and close entourage, we feel there's too many inconsistencies around his death to rule it as a suicide, and for people to jump to conclusions that rapidly was disappointing," Genest's manager Karim Leduc told People.

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He also confirmed that the 32-year-old actor and model, who famously appeared in Lady Gaga's 'Born this Way' music video, died after falling off a balcony in Montreal.

"The balcony from which he fell on the third floor was a very dangerous balcony," Leduc added.

"Just three weeks ago, I visited that balcony with him and was on it with him smoking a cigarette, as well.

"It's a balcony that has very small rails/guards - an emergency/fire escape balcony - and he was leaning his back towards it like sitting on the ledge of the rail, and he fell from his backside onto the floor."

Leduc also said that the 32-year-old didn't 'leave any notes' and had actually 'made plans for a couple [of] things that week'.

Topics: Death, Lady Gaga, Entertainment, Celebrity, News, Music

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman