A very groovy friendship: A timeline of the amazing bond between Ellen DeGeneres and Stephen 'tWitch' Boss
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Former 'So You Think You Can Dance' star and 'The Ellen Show' DJ and executive producer Stephen 'tWitch' Boss has died by suicide at the age of 40. On Tuesday, December 13, he died after allegedly suffering a self-inflicted gunshot injury.
Before his untimely death, Stephen and Ellen DeGeneres formed a close and famous bond loved by fans of the show. In 2011, DeGeneres met Boss, the then-dancer before his appearance as a guest DJ at her show.
After Stephen's death Ellen said in a statement: "I'm heartbroken. 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."
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In 2014, Stephen appeared on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' as a guest DJ and then became the show's in-house DJ. In 2020, he was eventually elevated to the executive producer role and filled in as guest host in DeGeneres's absence.
The DJ remained with the talk show host and comedian until the show's end in 2022. In May 2022 when the show ended, DeGeneres paid tribute to Stephen in one of the final episodes by saying, “Over a decade ago, I met someone who changed my life — and our show," and continued "I love you so much and it’s been an emotional week.”
“You always make me smile and laugh and anyway, we put together a little something together just to say how much we all love you here,” she said. Calling it a coincidence, Boss's mother was among the audience the day DeGeneres paid tribute to him.
Referring to Boss, she said "He’s my pal. He’s my sidekick. We have this connection, so, just looking over and — he makes me laugh. He really, really makes me laugh,” while playing clips of Boss in a tribute package.
DeGeneres and Boss's amazing bonding through the years
2011
On the special tribute episode, DeGeneres recalls meeting Boss two years before his appearance on The Ellen Show. "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. It was like a crash course in getting to know each other. He was so patient with me. That was my initial love for him — we bonded over learning to dance together," she said.
2013
After their dance sessions and Boss becoming her "favorite dancer", on September 9, 2013, he made his appearance as a guest DJ on The Ellen Show for the first time.
2014
Boss became a part of 'The Ellen Show' crew in September 2014 when he joined as an in-house DJ.
2017
DeGeneres opened an episode by saying "Twitch, you want to know my favorite thing that we've added?" Boss asks her "What's your favorite thing Ellen?" she replies "It's you. I love you." “Me and Ellen don’t dance, we just pull up our pants and.... @theellenshow #imatellen," Boss wrote on Instagram sharing a video montage of the duo dancing, signaling their close bond.
2020
Boss became executive producer and hosted the show whenever DeGeneres was out. “Honestly, Ellen just gives love, to be quite honest. She has so much love for our family,” Boss said in an interview in February 2020.
In March 2020, DeGeneres faced public backlash after alleged racial insensitivity and bullying on set amidst alleged sexual misconduct between executives and lower-level employees. Allegations of the host’s complicity in the toxic work environment also surfaced, according to MEAWW.
Addressing the controversy, Boss told "We can’t speak too much legally about it, but I’ll say this, there’s been love. Obviously there’s some things to address, but from my standpoint and from countless others, there’s been love. I’ll just leave it at that until there’s a time where we can address more publicly. There’s been love and there’ll will continue to be love.”
2021
As the pair began their friendship over dancing, DeGeneres jokingly talked about a Halloween skit in the future where they still dance as they get older, foreseeing their years as continued friends.
2022
Seven months before Boss's death, 'The Ellen Show' final episode aired on May 26, 2022. Gushing over their close bond, DeGeneres expressed their 'more than colleagues' connection during a special tribute to Boss by explaining that "whenever he’s not here — for whatever reason — it’s just different. I mean, I count on him to look over at and make silly jokes. I love you, tWitch. We tell each other that every day when we say goodbye after the show. We both say, ‘Love you.’ He says, ‘Love you much,’ and I say, ‘Love you.’ So, he’s never gonna be out of my life. He’s always gonna be a part of my life.”
Boss is survived by his wife Allison Holker and their three children, Weslie, 14, Maddox, 6, and Zaia, 3.
