Ellen DeGeneres cried as she announced that a former executive producer of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Matthew Wright, has suddenly died.
The former daytime talk show host, 68, shared the sad news in an Instagram video Monday, breaking down in tears. DeGeneres stressed that Wright was “a good guy,” and said he was the glue that held the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” family together.
“God, he was an amazing guy,” she reflected. “He made me laugh, he would surprise me with things he did all the time.”
“He was smart, he was kind … I mean, everyone loved him,” she continued. “I loved him. And it’s just shocking, it’s shocking.”
She shared that the two were planning to work on another project together before his unexpected death. She also said that Wright and the late Stephen “Twitch” Boss — who was the DJ on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” — were very close.
Boss died in December 2022 by suicide. He was 40 years old.
“So now he and Twitch are together, dancing and laughing,” DeGeneres emotionally shared.
Wright died Friday while working remotely in Los Angeles in “an unfathomable tragedy,” according to a GoFundMeset up to help his husband, Justin, and his family pay for funeral costs.
He was 52 years old.
“As many of you know, Matt & Justin were both laid off this summer,” the GoFundMe page reads. “And the unexpected costs of getting Matt home, a funeral and a memorial are impossible for the family to bear.”
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” ran for 19 seasons from 2003 to 2022. Wright worked on the show for 16 years, starting in 2006 and staying until the show’s series finale.
He appeared on the talk show multiple times, often in humorous bits. In her video Monday, DeGeneres shared highlights of his appearances over the years.
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was rocked by scandal in 2020, when 10 former employees accused the host of creating a “toxic” on-set atmosphere of “racism, fear, and intimidation.” DeGeneres later addressed the claims on-camera and apologized to the people affected, but stressed that she was still “the person you see on TV.”
Last month, the comedian — who now lives in the UK with wife Portia de Rossi — admitted she missed being on TV during her appearance on “The Graham Norton Show.”
“I think about doing stuff here,” she said before joking, “I think it is pretty easy to get on TV here.”
The post Ellen DeGeneres breaks down in tears as she reveals producer has died in ‘unfathomable tragedy’ appeared first on Page Six.
