The unexpected death of beloved hip-hop dancer Stephen “tWitch” Boss on Tuesday shocked his fans and friends, with stars from Jennifer Lopez to Dwayne Johnson sharing tributes.
Even more surprising for many was that Boss, 40, who starred on “So You Think You Can Dance” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” died by suicide.
His cause of death was confirmed by the Los Angeles County coroner.
Boss’ wife, fellow dancer Allison Holker, issued a statement confirming her husband’s death on Wednesday, saying, “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us.”
Boss was a father of three who had celebrated his ninth wedding anniversary with Holker on Dec. 10, just days before his death. In her statement confirming his death, Holker said her husband “lit up every room he stepped into.”
Stephen Boss attends Critics Choice Association’s 5th Annual Celebration Of Black Cinema & Television at Fairmont Century Plaza on Dec. 5, 2022 in Los Angeles.
The light Boss carried was evident on Instagram, where he entertained his nearly 4 million followers with frequent videos of himself dancing with his Holker and their kids.
In addition to tributes to Boss, many people shared messages online about mental health, and the fact that you never know who is struggling.
“Madea” star Tyler Perry took to Instagram to discuss his own past suicide attempts during “dark” times in his life.
“It was all so hard to just move through that I thought the only way to make this better, make this pain go away, was taking my life,” he said. “Had any of those attempts happened, I would have missed the best part of my life.”
Perry shared a message for those considering suicide, saying, “I know it may seem like there’s no hope, but please reach out to someone … call, ask for help if you are dealing with anything, anything that is emotionally taking you to a place where you think you want to end your life.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You are not on your own.
The high rate of suicide in the US
April Naturale, Ph.D., interim executive director of 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, said that while it can be jarring to see someone as outwardly positive and happy as Boss die by suicide, it is more common than people may think.
“It’s actually not unusual,” Naturale told ABC News. “We know that anybody can continue to put out a certain way of being in their work life or with family and friends and not let them know that they may be experiencing serious depressive symptoms or anxiety symptoms or some severe stress from a traumatic event.”
