Ellen DeGeneres Shutterstock
Remembering her friend. Ellen DeGeneres paid tribute to her former DJ, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, after the dancer died by reported suicide on Tuesday, December 13, at age 40.
“I’m heartbroken. tWitch was pure love and light,” DeGeneres, 64, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, December 14, alongside a photo of her hugging her fellow television personality. “He was my family, and I loved him with all my heart. I will miss him. Please send your love and support to Allison and his beautiful children — Weslie, Maddox and Zaia.”
Boss joined The Ellen DeGeneres Show as the talk show host’s in-house DJ in 2014 and became a co-executive producer of the program in August 2020. After the daytime TV series’ final episode in May, DeGeneres shared a clip via Twitter that detailed how she and the choreographer became acquainted.
“I used to be a huge fan of So You Think You Can Dance, and I wanted to do a dance. So, the producers of So You Think You Can Dance set me up with tWitch. tWitch came over to my house and he helped me try to copy it,” the comedian explained in the video. “It was like a crash course in getting to know each other … and he was so patient with me. That was my initial love for him … we just bonded over learning the dance together.”
The hip hop freestyler, for his part, shared a heartfelt message after the series finale of Ellen.
Allison Holker and Stephen Boss Broadimage/Shutterstock
“How do I say goodbye to a show that changed my life in so many ways? I guess if there was an answer to this it would be to send the show off with as much love as possible. Through thoughts, actions and as Ellen would say before we left the show each day, ‘Take this (feeling in the room) out into the world and spread it.’ That’s how I’ll say goodbye to this show and the moments that were created,” he wrote via Instagram alongside photos of him and the Finding Nemo actress.
The California native is survived by his wife, fellow SYTYCD alum Allison Holker, and their three children: Maddox, 6, Zaia, 3, and Weslie, 14, Holker’s daughter from a previous relationship whom Boss adopted.
TMZ reported that Holker, 34, informed officials at the Los Angeles Police Department one day before her husband’s death that he had left their home without his car, which was unusual behavior for him. Police later received a call about a shooting at a hotel in L.A., where the Ellen alum was found dead.
Holker — who wed Boss in 2013 — spoke out about her loss on Wednesday.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us,” the Dancing With the Stars alum said in a statement to People. “Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends and community above all else and leading with love and light was everything to him. He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans.”
The DJ’s death came just three days after he and his wife celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary.
“It’s our 9th anniversary!! I couldn’t be more grateful to celebrate this perfect magical day!!!” Holker wrote via Instagram on Saturday, December 10. “Saying YES to @sir_twitch_alot has been one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life!! I feel so blessed and loved!! I love you baby and I will never take you or OUR love for granted! I LOVE YOU.”
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.