Lyric McHenry, ‘EJNYC’ Reality Show Star, Dies at 26

Lyric McHenry, who appeared on the 2016 E! reality series EJNYC, has died, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The cause of death has not yet been determined. She was 26.

The video producer and reality television star was found dead in the Bronx on Tuesday morning. Several outlets have reported that McHenry was discovered on the sidewalk, though the New York Office of the Medical Examiner could not confirm, and that she was 20 weeks pregnant and had cocaine on her person at the time.

In a statement to People magazine, McHenry’s family wrote, “The McHenry Family deeply appreciates the many communications of support from Lyric’s many friends upon learning of her untimely death at approximately 6:00 AM the morning of August 14th, 2018. Despite the speculation in earlier reports, at this point in time the cause of Lyric’s death has yet to be determined.”

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Added the family, “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.”

McHenry, who was a native Angeleno, graduated from Stanford University, where she studied comparative literature, in 2014. At 15, she worked on the Obama presidential campaign, and later interned with the Refinery29 video department as a producer and on-screen talent. 

“She was funny, proactive and incredibly creatively driven,” Refinery29 head of video development Jon Bulette said in a statement on the publication’s website. “She was an excellent communicator and I couldn’t wait to see where her talent and creativity would take her.”

McHenry also interned for BET’s 2013-2016 reality series The Real Husbands of Hollywood and later worked at UTA. In 2016, she starred on E!’s EJNYC, the 2016 show following the life of EJ Johnson, the son of Magic Johnson, after he moved to New York City. 

According to her family’s statement, McHenry was interviewing for entertainment jobs on the West Coast and preparing applications for business school.