Stephen “tWitch” Boss, the former “Ellen DeGeneres Show” DJ who died on Tuesday at age 40, is being remembered by some of America’s top names.
“I was heartbroken to learn about the passing of Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, who I got to know over the years through my Let’s Move! initiative and visits to The Ellen Show,” wrote Michelle Obama on Instagram. “Stephen … radiated kindness and positivity, and made sure that people around him could feel it, too.”
Obama — who launched her initiative against childhood obesity in 2010 — continued her Instagram tribute with condolences to Boss’ wife Allison Holker and their children Weslie, Maddox and Zaia. She included the suicide and crisis hotline number, 988.
“It’s heartbreaking to hear that someone who brought so much joy to a room, was hurting so much behind closed doors,” tweeted Justin Timberlake. “I’ve known Twitch for over 20 years through the dance community — he always lit everything up.”
“You just never know what someone is really going through,” Timberlake added.
DeGeneres eulogized Boss on Instagram on Wednesday with a photo of them hugging.
“tWitch was pure love and light,” she wrote. “He was my family, and I loved him with all my heart. I will miss him.”
Boss died by suicide on Tuesday, according to reports. His wife called him “the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans.”
“I have no words,” Channing Tatum wrote on Instagram with a photo of him with Boss. “There aren’t any. My head or heart can not understand this. There is just so much… i don’t know where to begin. I love you. I’ll see you again my friend. Until then.”
Other celebrity colleagues, including Jada Pinkett Smith, Billy Porter, Questlove and Kelly Rowland, also paid their respects online.