Stephen “Twitch” Boss Dies by Suicide
How suicide is a serious public health problem and the leading cause of death.
Stephen “Twitch” Boss, DJ, and executive producer of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” has died by suicide. He was 40 and recently celebrated his 9th wedding anniversary. Also, two days prior on social media was seen doing his Christmas dance. Hearing about Twitch’s death in this manner was startling, to say the least. Someone who seemed to have so much to live for, a successful career, a beautiful wife, and children.
You truly can never judge a book by looking at its cover, equally, you can never tell what a person is going through by looking at the smile on his face. Twitch was known to light up a room with his personality and infectious energy but apparently, darkness hid inside him and raise its ugly head tipping him over the line of life and death.
In the the United States, suicide is the leading cause of death with 45,979 deaths in 2020. This averages one death every 11 minutes. Between 2000–2018 suicide rates increased by 30% and declined in 2019 and 2020. Those who think about or attempt suicide are even higher. Statistics show in 2020 an estimated 12.2 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.2 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.2 million attempted suicide. This validates that suicide is a mental health crisis.
No one is immune to suicidal thoughts but there are many agencies that are available to assist. America’s outreach needs to improve in order to combat the devastation of suicide. Suicide affects all ages and all people. Suicide was among the top 9 leading causes of death for people ages 10–64 and the second leading cause of death for people ages 10–14 and 25–34.
Regarding which ethnic groups are most affected by suicide, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic White populations have the highest rates of suicide. Other Americans with higher-than-average rates of suicide are veterans, people who live in rural areas, workers in certain industries, and occupations like mining and construction. Also, Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual have higher rates of suicidal thoughts compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
Suicide and suicide attempts cause serious emotional and physical harm to the health and well-being of friends, loved ones, co-workers, and the community. Surviving family and friends may experience shock, anger, guilt, symptoms of depression or anxiety, and may even experience thoughts of suicide themselves after a loved one commits or attempts suicide. Suicide does have a boomerang effect and the devastation can be catastrophic. Also, suicide takes a financial toll on families and society.
Referring back to Boss’ wife, Allison Holker who lost her husband in such a manner is heartbreaking, and having to tell their young children their father has died in such a manner adds fuel to the fire. One can only imagine upon hearing about the loss of their dad, how their young minds will process this devastating news.
Allison Holker shared with the news media that her heart was at its heaviest and shared about her husband, Boss, being the light in every room he walked in. Also, while he was loved by all who knew him, he was a family man who valued his friends, fans, and community.
Boss came to bigger prominence being DJing on “Ellen” in 2014 and remained until the show ended in 2022. In 2020, DeGeneres named him an executive producer. Before the Ellen show, Boss broke into Hollywood after finishing in second place on Season 4 of “So You Think You Can Dance.” He was seen as an extra dancer in films like “Blades of Glory” and “Hairspray”. This extra work led him to land bigger roles in “Step Up 3D” and “Magic Mike XXL.” Boss’ credits also include “Step Up All In,” “Modern Family,” “Ghostbusters,” “Love,” “East Los High,” “Bones,” “Touch” and “Famous in Love.”
Boss is known for his dance moves that charmed everyone, young and old. Other credits to his name including being the choreographer for K-pop artists Seven and Big Bang. He co-founded CLI Studios which offered online dance classes with top choreographers.
As a native of Alabama, Boss was born to dance, and dance he did. He studied dance performance at Southern Union State Community College and later transferred to Chapman University. In 2013, he married Holker and they had three children. As a couple, they hosted the Disney+ docuseries “Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings.”
In conclusion, the loss is more than real and horrific to the three young children left behind along with Boss’s wife. Suicide is a mental illness and too many are falling through the cracks. More needs to be done to combat the suicide numbers as suicide is treatable. Everyone has a role to play.
Suicide is preventable and requires a comprehensive public health approach. It all begins with education and resources made readily available to all communities. Knowing the signs of suicide is key and secondly knowing where to get help can save a life.
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