Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss’s widow has heartbreakingly shared that she found out about her late husband’s drug addiction while looking for an outfit for him to wear at his funeral.
The beloved TV star, best known for his appearances as the DJ on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, tragically passed away at the age of 40.
Boss’s body was discovered at a motel in Los Angeles on December 13, 2022. His cause of death was ruled as suicide by a coroner, and county officials further confirmed that the late dancer died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, TMZ reported.
The longtime DJ was married to Alison Holker. The couple shared a son Maddox, eight, and daughters Zaia, five, and Weslie, 16.
In a new interview with PEOPLE, Boss’s wife revealed that she learned about her late husband’s drug addiction weeks after his tragic death.
The 36-year-old, who is also a professional dancer, said that she had found a “cornucopia” of drugs such as mushrooms, pills, and “other substances I had to look up on my phone,” hidden inside Boss’s shoeboxes inside their closet.
“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,” Holker told the outlet.
“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].
“It was a really scary moment in my life to figure that out, but it also helped me process that he was going through so much and he was hiding so much, and there must have been a lot of shame in that,” she added.
Throughout their nine-year marriage, Holker believed she and Boss had “very honest” communication about his marijuana use.
At night, after their kids went to bed, he would go into their guesthouse to smoke or drink. “That was his alone time. It was his time to recharge, and that was okay,” she explained.
But as she looked through her late husband’s journals hoping to find clarity and closure after his unexpected passing, she learned that he’d been keeping many things hidden from her, including possible sexual abuse by a male figure during his childhood.
“He was wrestling with a lot inside himself, and 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,” Holker said. “He didn’t want other people to take on his pain.”
Initially, the dancer said she felt betrayed by his secrets, but thanks to therapy, she’s gained a new outlook on the situation.
She said the journals gave her “a better perspective of where he was in life and the type of things [he] was struggling with,” adding: “It was really hard to put all the pieces together… Reading through his journals, you realize he went through a lot as a child and never faced it.
“It’s hard to think that he never opened up to someone and wanted to face it, to get through on the other side. I really hope people dealing with the same thing will help themselves out of the shadows and [know] you’re going to be okay,” she concluded.
Elsewhere in the interview, Holker revealed Boss’s devastating last words to his daughter before dying by suicide.
Featured image credit: Momodu Mansaray / Getty
Ryan Reynolds accused of taking a shot at Justin Baldoni with ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ joke
By James Kay
Ryan Reynolds has been accused of having a dig at Justin Baldoni in Deadpool & Wolverine.
In case you’ve dodged the drama, a dispute began when Blake Lively, 37, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni, 40, alleging inappropriate behavior on the set of their film, It Ends with Us.
The former Gossip Girl star claimed Baldoni’s actions necessitated a meeting with production staff, crew, and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, to address the alleged misconduct.
According to court documents, Lively outlined specific protective measures for her continued participation in the film, including: “no more improvising of kissing” and “no more personal, physical touching of, or sexual comments by Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath to be tolerated by [Blake Lively] and/or any of her employees, as well as any female cast or crew without their express consent.”
Additional stipulations included prohibitions against adding sex scenes, oral sex depictions, or on-camera climaxing outside the script Lively had approved.
The lawsuit alleges these measures were agreed upon by Baldoni and the filmmakers.
Lively also accused Baldoni of orchestrating a “social manipulation” campaign to damage her reputation following the film’s release.
Shortly after Lively’s lawsuit, Baldoni launched his own legal counterattack, including a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.
Baldoni’s legal team alleges the publication relied on Lively’s “unverified and self-serving narrative” without adequately investigating the claims.
“The claims the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative,” reports The Independent, further claiming that the newspaper “cherry-picked” text messages to present a misleading narrative.
Well, given that Ryan Reynolds is married to Lively, people have accused him of taking a shot at Baldoni in his latest movie.
Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman has accused Reynolds of using his influence to parody Baldoni in Deadpool & Wolverine.
The film, shot concurrently with It Ends with Us, reportedly features a character named “Nicepool,” who bears traits Freedman claims are intended to mock Baldoni.
Appearing on The Megyn Kelly Show on Tuesday, Freedman stated: “What Ryan Reynolds has seemingly done is use his power and influence … on Deadpool to make fun of Justin Baldoni.”
Kelly played a clip from the film showing Nicepool, portrayed by Reynolds, as a man-bun-wearing, self-proclaimed feminist who makes inappropriate comments about Lively’s character, Ladypool, and her pregnancy.
In the scene, Nicepool says: “Oh my goodness, wait til you’ve seen Ladypool. She is gorgeous. She just had a baby too and (you) can’t even tell.” Deadpool responds: “I don’t think you’re supposed to say that,” to which Nicepool replies: “That’s okay, I identify as a feminist.”
Freedman argued that the Nicepool character was a clear jab at Baldoni, who is publicly known as a feminist and delivered a TED Talk in 2017 on the subject.
“There’s no question it relates to Justin,” Freedman said. “I mean anybody that can watch that – the hair bun, you know, the comment about the pregnancy – it’s pretty obvious what’s being done.”
Freedman criticized Reynolds’ approach, saying: “If your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of Justin Baldoni; you don’t make fun of the situation – you take it very seriously.”
He further accused Reynolds of undermining Lively’s claims through humor, adding: “What you don’t do is mock the person and turn it into a joke.”
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