Ellen DeGeneres in Tears Announcing Death of Former Show Producer Matthew Wright at 52

Ellen DeGeneres posted an emotional Instagram video Monday announcing that Matthew Wright, a former executive producer on“The Ellen DeGeneres Show,”died Friday at 52. Wright was working remotely in Los Angeles at the time of his death. In the video, DeGeneres called him“a good guy,”credited him with holding the show’s family together, and said the two had been planning another project together before he passed.

Wright worked on the daytime show for 16 seasons, from 2006 through its 2022 finale, and was close friends with Stephen“Twitch”Boss, the show’s DJ who died in 2022. DeGeneres closed her tribute by saying the two are now together, dancing and laughing. A GoFundMe set up for the family says Wright and his husband Justin were both laid off this summer, leaving them unable to cover funeral and memorial costs.

The story is hitting fans hard, both for the loss of someone who was part of their daily routines for over a decade and for the financial reality behind it. If you grew up watching the show, the off-camera crew probably felt like family too. Have you ever contributed to a GoFundMe for a family in this situation? Tell us in the comments.