Yahoo Lifestyle Allison Holker Is Being Called Out For Sharing Her Late Husband Stephen “tWitch” Boss’s Personal Struggles After Going Through His Private Journals
This article mentions suicide, drug addiction, and sexual abuse.
Just over two years ago, former cohost of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, died by suicide at age 40.
Boss, who was an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and actor, had three kids with his wife of nine years, Allison Holker: Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia.
Shortly after Boss’s death, Holker wrote in a touching Instagram post, “My ONE and ONLY Oh how my heart aches. We miss you so much.”
A few months later, Holker opened up further about how she was coping. "I still feel like the rest of the world — I'm still shocked," she told Hoda Kotb. "There's no one that saw this coming. I feel so sad that he was so there and we weren't in the know. He wanted to be the strong one for everyone, and I think that was a little scary for him, that he might've needed to ask for help."
Earlier this week, Holker sat down with People magazine for an interview about Boss ahead of the release of her memoir, This Far. In the interview, she detailed going through the late dancer’s journals and finding out about his alleged drug addiction and alleged childhood abuse, per People.
Holker claimed that weeks after Boss’s death, she discovered a "cornucopia" of drugs hidden in his shoeboxes, including substances that she had to look up on her phone.
“I was with one of my really dear friends, and we were cleaning out the closet and picking out an outfit for him for the funeral,” she said. “It was a really triggering moment for me because there were a lot of things I discovered in our closet that I did not know existed. It was very alarming to me to learn that there was so much happening that I had no clue [about].”
Holker then said that she went through Boss’s journals and discovered that he was “wrestling with a lot inside himself.”
“He was trying to self-medicate and cope with all those feelings because he didn't want to put it on anyone because he loved everyone so much," she claimed. "He didn't want other people to take on his pain."
Since Holker’s interview was published this week, some of Boss’s loved ones have called her out — including his longtime close friend Courtney Platt, who took to Instagram to criticize Holker’s decision to "write a book with all the dirty laundry smearing his name.”
“This is by far the most tacky, classless, opportunistic act I have ever seen in my entire life,” she wrote in part, before seemingly alleging that Holker made people sign an NDA to attend his funeral.
“We all had to sign some weird NDA to attend his funeral (even his own mother who you’ve treated like garbage this entire time and let’s just remember you wouldn’t have even had a husband if it wasn’t for her) not to share anything or ruin his name as if that was on anyone’s mind in the first place and here you go and write a book with all the dirty laundry smearing his name and attempting to dim the bright loyal, loving, light that was your husband, my friend,” Platt claimed.
“Whether any of it is true or not is actually beside the point. This is how you protect the ‘Boss name’ you so quickly dropped on your social media platforms 48 hours after he passed? His legacy? This is how you protect his children from any further humiliation, hurt and despair? This is what you want them to remember about him?” she said.
“[Publishing] a book shamelessly sharing the pages of your husband’s journal? People magazine? What a joke,” she added. “Yes, he took his own life which is a fact all of us still can’t fathom and he was clearly having mental health issues, hurting so deeply and this is your example of empathy? Of your love? This smear campaign for a buck is absolutely not what he would have ever wanted.”
Boss’s brother, Dré Rose — who has mentioned an alleged NDA in the past — shared Platt’s message to his Instagram stories, adding: “No lies told.”
He later reposted a bunch of messages from people calling Holker out, one of which branded her a “disgrace and a despicable human.”
Several internet users have criticized Holker's decision to detail Boss's personal struggles. "Let him rest in peace without his trauma being sold," one Instagram comment read, while another said, "This was SO distasteful."
"This is sad and disappointing. His personal battles should have remained private," someone wrote. One more user added, "How is this allowed? This should have stayed private for all eternity."
Meanwhile, Holker has defended herself amid the growing backlash.
After fellow dancer Kelly Gibson accused Holker of “disgracing” Boss’s name for a “paycheck” in her Instagram comment section, Holker replied, “I’ll always love you. Just trying to help people feel safe to ask for help and support.”
Holker then went on to repost several Instagram messages in support of her, one of which branded her “brave.”
BuzzFeed has reached out to Holker's representatives for comment.
Dial 988 in the US to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386. Find other international suicide helplines at Befrienders Worldwide (befrienders.org).
Stephen "tWitch" Boss, Dancer And DJ For "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Has Died At 40Anna Betts · Dec. 14, 2022
Stephen "tWitch" Boss's Widow, Allison Holker, Opened Up About How She Explained His Death To Their KidsRyan Schocket · May 8, 2023
Stephen "tWitch" Boss's Wife Allison Holker Opened Up About Her Grief In Her First Instagram Post Since His DeathAnthony Robledo · Dec. 21, 2022
