One of the executive producers on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Matthew Wright, has died. Wright died suddenly in an “unfathomable tragedy” on October 30. The former talk show host paid tribute to him.
According to a GoFundMe, Wright was working remotely in Los Angeles when he died. He was laid off in the summer and was not with his family at the time of his passing, as they were in New York. Details about his death are not known. At the time of publication, the GoFundMe has reached $25,000 of the $50,000 goal.
Wright worked on Ellen for 16 years, from 2006 until the show ended in 2022. According to his LinkedIn, he also worked on The Drew Barrymore Show, The Jennifer Hudson Show, as well as the game shows created by DeGeneres.
DeGeneres shared a post of her own on her account. With tears in her eyes, she announced his death. “He was an amazing guy,” she said. “He was funny. God, he made me laugh. He would surprise him with things that he did all the time. He was smart, kind. Everyone loved him. I loved him. It’s just shocking.”
The former host went on to say that they were working on a project together that they didn’t get to start. “He is, and always will be, the glue to our entire family at the Ellen Show,” DeGeneres said.
She apologized to his family because they “lost a good guy.” DeGeneres said he and Stephen “tWitch” Boss,” who died in 2022 by suicide, were “so close.” “So now, he and tWitch are together, dancing and laughing,” she ended with tears streaming down her face.
DeGeneres then ended her post with clips from Wright on the show. “We love you, Matt,” the video ended.
Fellow EP Andy Lassner shared a tribute to Wright, sharing a memory of their last meeting. “These photos were taken Thursday, while we were taping our Halloween show. Matt came by to visit. A few hours later, he was gone. We are all in shock,” Lassner wrote on Instagram on November 1.
Lassner, who now works on The Jennifer Hudson Show, continued, “He was a brilliant producer and an even better human being. The way he looked after his mom, flying back and forth from Los Angeles to New York practically every weekend before she died, showed what an incredible son he was. He gave that same depth of love to his friendships.”
“My heart breaks for his husband, Justin, his family, and all of us who loved him. I was so lucky to work beside Matt for so many years and to call him my friend. We should have had so much more time with him.” DeGeneres commented with a broken heart emoji.
