Stephen Boss, better known as tWitch, made a huge impact on people as part of the dance community, and that was never more obvious than when so many came forward to share stories about him after he passed away. Boss died by suicide at age 40 on December 13, 2022, and on the one-year anniversary of his passing, Ellen DeGeneres paid tribute to her friend, who had served as the DJ on her popular talk show. The comedian shared memories of tWitch, saying she misses him every day, and as a longtime fan, I’m still not over the loss either.
Ellen DeGeneres’ friendship with Stephen Boss dates back to 2014, when he joined The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where he would remain until the show ended last May. The host has spoken out many times about tWitch over the past year, and on the anniversary of his death, she posted a video to Instagram, recalling one of her favorite memories of their time working together. She said:
I loved that every single day after the show we would sing and dance to some song, and then we would make each other laugh somehow. And then we would walk off arm in arm and walk to my dressing room, which was the first one we got to, and I would say, ‘I love you,’ and he’d say, ‘Love you much.’ And then he would walk off to his. And every single day, that’s how we ended the show, in arm in arm. I miss that.
As she spoke a video played, showing her and tWitch walking together backstage, and while she clearly misses him, it’s beautiful that so many of her memories with him are documented for her to look back on. She also recalled some fun times they had on vacations they took for the show, before lamenting that she didn’t know he was in such pain. She continued:
His memory lives on, and I love him so much. I miss him so much. And it’s a reminder every single day that you just don’t know what people are going through, because he was a happy guy, I thought, and I was really close to him, and he never shared that with me. So that is sad, that he didn’t feel like he could find a way out and share that he was struggling, because we all would have done anything we could to help him. I miss him every single day, but I have amazing memories of him.
Ellen DeGeneres was one of several celebrities to open up about their shock at tWitch’s passing a year ago, and in the days that followed she encouraged her followers to “laugh,” “hug each other” and “play games,” because that was what he would have wanted. She later planted a tree in his memory at the Ellen Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and recalled their last dance together at a public celebration of his life.
Stephen Boss’ death affected not just the people whose paths he crossed, but his many fans as well. I was a fan of his since he competed on So You Think You Can Dance, and I’d followed his career through The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Magic Mike XXL and several Step Up movies. Sometimes it still hurts to remember that he’s no longer among us, and that there was so much pain behind that big smile.
One of tWitch’s last projects was serving as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance, and in what I think is a great move, his widow Allison Holker — another SYTYCD alum — will join the panel for the upcoming Season 18. Tune into Fox for that premiere on March 4.
If you or someone you know are having thoughts of self-harm, please, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
