Todrick Hall, Stephen "tWitch" Boss' friend, revealed that the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" DJ, who died of suicide last month, was under pressure due to the show's "toxic workplace" controversy. So, does it have something to do with his demise?
DeGeneres was accused of letting several former employees develop an on-set culture of "racism, fear, and intimidation." The revelation resulted in a huge backlash and online criticism, with some directed at Boss for supporting the talk show host.
Hall told Page Six that people questioned his pal's decision to continuously stand by the stand-up comedian despite what she did, putting him under a lot of pressure. Hence, he believed the hostile response online contributed to the dancer's state of mind in the months before his passing.
He admitted that though he didn't know what was going on in Boss' life that let him decide to support DeGeneres, he understood it. He knew only so much a human could take with the online hate and abuse that continued for years.
Hall added that Boss was someone who had always shown him support, describing him as "kind and down to earth." He even remembered how he would usually come to his house and shoot TikTok videos together.
For context, Boss died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was found in an L.A. hotel room on December 13. He was 40 years old.
He left a suicide note, alluding to old challenges he faced in the past that led to his demise. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that the "So You Think You Can Dance" judge set his photo to airplane mode to ensure no one could find him.
However, it wasn't clear what he was referring to in his suicide note, as the coroners said he seemed to allude to a vague issue. The father of three took an Uber from his home instead of using his car to make his way to the Oak Tree Inn motel-less than a mile from his house.
As his wife, Allison Holker, who's also a dancer Boss met on "So You Think You Can Dance," couldn't contact him, she rushed to an LAPD precinct to raise the alarm over his unusual behavior. From there, a motel worker found his lifeless body.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner confirmed the cause of death as suicide by a headshot. As there were no signs of foul play, the case was officially closed.
