Jay Jay Phillips, the METTAL MAFFIA keyboardist who appeared on “America’s Got Talent” has died at the age of 30 due to COVID-19.
According to TMZ, Phillips passed away after a battle with the virus over Thanksgiving. He had not yet been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
METTAL MAFFIA announced Phillips’s passing in a social media post, writing: “It is with great sadness we inform you all of the loss of our bandmate/brother/and friend @jayjayrocks. It still doesn’t feel real and we would give anything to change it. Please respect the family, as well as our wishes as we take our time to grieve and process this detrimental loss. We miss you brother, every second of every minute, of every day. Thank you for teaching us all to laugh a little more. Rock in Paradise.”
A friend of Philips named Seph Lawless told The Wrap that Jay Jay was battling COVID-19 over Thanksgiving, and that his girlfriend had found him unresponsive “in the fetal position” in bed.
“He was battling covid like so many quietly at home the only difference was his soul was larger than most and so we all knew he was struggling,” Lawless wrote in an e-mail to the site, adding that the musician was allegedly unvaccinated.
Phillips reportedly lived outside of Cleveland with his father, who is currently in hospital on a ventilator.
Jay Jay first appeared on Season 4 of “America’s Got Talent” in 2019 as a keyboardist act, but was eliminated early on. He came back on the show for Season 12 in 2017, before being let go before the quarterfinals.
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