Featured Image Credit: Ellen DeGeneres / Twitter
Topics: Celebrity
Emma Guinness
Ellen DeGeneres has paid tribute to her show's former DJ tWitch, who sadly took his own life earlier this month.
The dancer-turned-DJ was just 40, passed away on 13 December, and he is survived by his wife Allison Holker, 34, and their three children, Weslie Fowler, Maddox Laurel and Zaia.
The star, whose real name was Stephen Boss, rose to fame back in 2008 when he earned himself the position of runner-up on So You Think You Can Dance season 4.
This was the start of a fruitful relationship with the show and he went on to appear as an all-star in 2011, 2012 and 2013 before rising to the position of team captain in 2015.
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However, he was also known as being a DJ on The Ellen DeGeneres Show - a role he occupied from 2014 until 2022.
Ellen subsequently took to social media to pay tribute to tWitch in an emotional message where she said his death has been 'really tough on everyone'. You can listen below:
"Everyone is in pain and trying to make sense of it, and we’ll never make sense of it," Ellen said in a video posted on Friday (23 December).
She then asked people to honour the late entertainer by doing the things 'he loved to do', explaining 'the best thing we can do is to laugh and hug each other and play games and dance and sing.'
"It seems impossible, but that’s how we honour him," she said. "And hug each other and tell each other we love each other and let people know we're there for them and check in with people.
"I know it's not a happy holiday, but he was pure light - as everybody in the comments said. If you knew him, you knew that. If you didn't know him, you saw it.
"Let's honour him and think about him and send love to one another."
Ellen's heartfelt tribute follows an equally heartfelt message from tWitch's wife, which she shared in a statement announcing his passing.
"It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us," she said.
"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."
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