Ellen DeGeneres‘ longtime DJ Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss left a suicide note alluding to the challenges he faced in his life, according to TMZ.
Police tell TMZ, the suicide note, found in room 248 at the Oak Tree Inn motel in Encino, alluded to “challenges he’s faced in the past.”
Police determined Stephen, 40, took an Uber from his home to the motel less than a mile away, and switched his phone to airplane mode so no one could reach or track him, TMZ reported.
Stephen’s widow, Allison Holker, 34, said he left home “unexpectedly” on Monday morning, just three days after celebrating their 9th wedding anniversary. She frantically searched for him when he didn’t return home Tuesday morning and he didn’t answer her calls.
Allison filed a missing person’s report with the LAPD. Police accompanied her back to the couple’s $4 million mansion in Los Angeles, where they searched for clues to his disappearance. A 911 call came in from a nearby motel reporting a man’s body found in a room.
A maid found Stephen’s body in a pool of blood in the bathroom of room 248. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
Allison denied rumors that she and Stephen fought or argued before he left home.
“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,” Allison said in a tribute on Instagram.
She continued:
“He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans. To say he left a legacy would be an understatement, and his positive impact will continue to be felt. I am certain there won’t be a day that goes by that we won’t honor his memory.”
Stephen was best known as the longtime DJ for The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He was named executive producer just before the show was canceled in 2022.
He commented on reports that DeGeneres was mean to her staff and allowed a culture of racism and harassment on her show.
“We can’t speak too much legally about it, but I’ll say this, there’s been love,” the professional dancer told Us Weekly.
He continued:
“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 will continue to be love.”
Stephen and Ellen were very close. Their unusually tight bond prompted rumors that he confided in her, possibly about his rumored secret lifestyle.
Stephen and Allison, both professional dancers, met on the set of “So You Think You Can Dance.” They were parents to daughter Zaia, 3, son Maddox, 6, and Allison’s daughter Weslie Fowler, 14, from a prior relationship.
The couple seemed happy, but there were “constant” conversations about having another baby. Stephen stuttered while discussing having more children in an interview with Jennifer Hudson.
“Yeah, it’s a constant conversation,” he told Hudson.
According to Internet rumors, Stephen was despondent over losing millions in the FTX cryptocurrency collapse. But Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ that the rumors are false – Stephen was not experiencing any financial difficulties.
