Ellen DeGeneres became tearful in an Instagram video on Monday as she announced the sudden death of Matthew Wright, a former executive producer of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Wright was 52.
DeGeneres remembered him as a smart, kind and funny person, saying he helped bring the show’s team together. She also shared that they had been planning to work on another project before his death.
Wright and Stephen “tWitch” Boss, the show’s former DJ, were close, DeGeneres said. She reflected that the two were now together, dancing and laughing. Boss died in 2022.
Wright died on Friday while working remotely in Los Angeles, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help his husband, Justin, and family with funeral and memorial costs. The fundraiser said the couple had both been laid off during the summer and that the unexpected expenses would be difficult for the family to manage.
Wright worked on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” for 16 years, from 2006 until its final episode. The program ran for 19 seasons, from 2003 to 2022, and Wright appeared in several of its humorous segments.
Sources: Page Six.