Ellen DeGeneres is continuing to mourn her friend and former colleague Stephen “tWitch” Boss.
On Friday, the 64-year-old comedian fought back tears as she opened up in an Instagram video about how hard it has been since the hip-hop dancer’s tragic death. She expressed in the clip:
“I just wanted to say that the past 11 days have been really tough for everyone. Everyone is in pain and trying to make sense of it – we’ll never make sense of it. And the holidays are hard, I think, anyway.”
While Ellen recognized how difficult this time of the year is for many people, she urged her followers to “honor” Stephen by doing what he loved to do most in life:
“But to honor tWitch, I think the best thing we can do is to laugh and hug each other, and play games, and dance and sing. That’s the way we honor him, is to do the things he loved to do, which is dancing. He loved music and games. We do that. And I know it seems hard and impossible. But that’s how we honor him.”
Related: Allison Holker’s ‘Heart Aches’ In First Instagram Post Since Stephen’s Death
She then reminded fans to “check in” on everyone, saying:
“Hug each other and tell each other we love each other and let people know we’re there for them and check in on people. I know it’s not a happy holiday. 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 honor him and think about him. And send love to one another.”
Well said. You can watch the entire emotional video (below):
As you know, Stephen was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Los Angeles motel room on December 13. It was later confirmed by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office that the So You Think You Can Dance star died by suicide. Following the news of his death, Ellen — who worked with Stephen on The Ellen DeGeneres Show — shared how “heartbroken” she was by the loss of her longtime pal, writing on social media at the time:
“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 [his wife] Allison [Holker] and his beautiful children – Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia.”
Since then, she has continued to pay tribute to Stephen by sharing some of her favorite moments with him over the years. On Friday, Ellen also shared a throwback clip of the actor playing a game on her show called, “Can tWitch Dance With What’s Behind Him?” See the moment (below):
Sending love and light to Ellen and the Boss family.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org.
[Image via Ellen DeGeneres/Instagram, MEGA/WENN]
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