Ellen DeGeneres has paid tribute to Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, following his death at the age of 40.
Stephen was the resident DJ and sometimes stand-in presenter on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which he joined in 2014. He was later promoted to co-executive producer in 2020 and he remained on the US daytime talk show until it ended earlier this year.
In a post shared on Twitter on Wednesday evening, Ellen said she was “heartbroken” over the news of his death.
“I’m heartbroken,” she wrote. “tWitch was pure love and light.
“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.”
In a statement, tWitch’s wife said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us.
“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 statement did not include any detail on the cause of his death.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to the BBC that its West Valley Division officers responded to an “ambulance death investigation” radio call at a motel on Ventura Boulevard on Tuesday.
There were no signs of foul play and the case has been handed the over to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.
Actor Dwayne Johnson, AKA ‘The Rock’, also paid tribute on Twitter, describing Stephen as “a great guy”.
Stephen regularly posted dance videos on TikTok with his wife, who is also a professional dancer, with their children making guest appearances.
In his last Instagram post shared on Monday, Stephen shared a video of him dancing with Allison to Alicia Key’s Christmas album.
The Ellen Degeneres Show aired its final episode in May and included guest appearances from Jennifer Aniston, Billie Eilish and Pink!
The show first premiered in 2003 and won multiple Emmy awards during a run that saw more than 3,000 episodes recorded.
Ellen announced last year that she was stepping down from the TV show after controversy over an alleged toxic workplace environment.
In 2020, she apologised to staff after an internal review by Warner Bros found “deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management”.
The review was launched after reports of a toxic environment on the programme but Ellen later denied that it was the reason she decided to end the show.
