The show business world is still reeling after losing one of their very bright stars. On December 13, 2022, Stephen “tWitch” Boss was found dead as a result of suicide. He was a DJ, choreographer, and producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Stephen was also married and the father of three children. His career in show business began in 2008 when he placed as a runner up on So You Think You Can Dance and he started deejaying on Ellen from 2014 until the show’s end in 2022.
Numerous celebrities shared condolences to Stephen’s family and friends, including Ellen DeGeneres who stated she is “heartbroken” over the sudden loss. Now Ellen’s executive producer Andy Lassner has stepped in to defend the numerous tributes to Stephen, and contribute his own. Page Six has the details.
Regular viewers of the Ellen show are already familiar with Andy Lassner. Peripheral watchers of the program might remember Andy as the guy Ellen sent to haunted houses to mercilessly scare him during the Halloween seasons. But Andy was also a very close friend and co-worker of Stephen’s, and they worked together for over a decade. While tributes and messages for those who have passed often highlight that person’s best characteristics, Andy is here to say everything we are reading about tWitch was true.
Andy shared via Instagram, “So many people on social media are posting pictures of themselves with Twitch. Talking about their close friendships with him. Talking about the texts they exchanged with him just last week. Talking about the conversation they once had with him. The thing is – it’s all true. It’s all real,” he said.
Multiple A-listers liked Andy’s post that praised Stephen’s way of making everyone “feel like the most important person in the world.” Andy continued, “He really did care for every single person who worked at the show and everyone in his life. And the thing is if you met him just once – you felt that feeling. That light. That’s why I think you and I are hurting. Because we all counted on him. He was our flame. Our joy. Our dancer,” Andyw wrote.
Andy’s post noted that no one seemed aware of the “heavy burden” Stephen had been carrying the past few years, though Stephen spoke on “overcoming hardships” back in 2017. “He must have been so tired. But we didn’t know because he never wanted it to be about him. Ever,” Andy added. While we may never know the cause or reason behind Stephen’s decision, we must always remember we do not know what other people are going through, and kindness is essential in today’s world.
Andy concluded with, “So now we can either spend all of our time wondering why and how and never being satisfied with the answers we imagine. Or we can focus on being grateful for the gift he gave us by allowing us to take light from his flame.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
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