The Ellen DeGeneres Show executive producer Andy Lassner is paying tribute to Stephen “tWitch” Boss.
“This guy was light,” Lassner, 58, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, January 7, shortly after a new interview with Boss’ widow, Allison Holker, was published by People. “Kindness and joy in motion. That’s how I remember him every day. He is deeply missed.”
Boss was hired as Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show DJ in 2014. Six years later, he became an executive producer on the series until the show came to an end in May 2022.
In December 2022, Boss was found dead at a Los Angeles hotel. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later confirmed that the So You Think You Can Dance alum died by suicide. He was 40 years old at the time.
Allison Holker Praises Ellen DeGeneres’ Support After tWitch’s Death
After Lassner shared his tribute, Holker, 36, commented with two red heart emojis.
The post comes as Holker prepares to share new details about her healing journey in a new memoir titled This Far: My Story of Love, Loss, and Embracing the Light.
Ahead of its release on Tuesday, February 4, Holker gave a wide-ranging interview to People about her late husband’s life and the “triggering” discovery she made just before Boss’ funeral.
Weeks after Boss died, Holker said she found a “cornucopia” of drugs including mushrooms, pills and “other substances I had to look up on my phone” hidden in Boss’ closet.
“It was a really triggering moment for me because there were a lot of things I discovered in our closet that I did not know existed,” she told People in an interview published January 7. “It was very alarming to me to learn that there was so much happening that I had no clue [about]. It was a really scary moment in my life to figure that out, but it also helped me process that he was going through so much and he was hiding so much, and there must have been a lot of shame in that.”
Some members of Boss’ family and the So You Think You Can Dance community have criticized Holker’s latest interview.
Allison Holker Praises Ellen DeGeneres’ Support After tWitch’s Death
According to Holker, however, she’s trying to help people feel safe to ask for help.
“It’s hard to think that he never opened up to someone and wanted to face it, to get through on the other side,” Holker told People. “I really hope people dealing with the same thing will help themselves out of the shadows and [know] you’re going to be OK.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
