This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 988, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
Allison Holker is addressing backlash to recent comments she gave about her late husband, Stephen “tWitch” Boss.
Boss, known as a dancer on “So You Think You Can Dance” and a DJ on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” died by suicide at age 40 in December 2022.
In a recent People interview, Holker, 36, described the “scary moment” she found a “cornucopia” of drugs hidden in their closet while picking out clothes for Boss’ funeral.
“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,” Holker said. “It was very alarming to me to learn that there was so much happening that I had no clue (about).”
After Holker’s People interview came out, Kelly Gibson, a dancer and fitness instructor who appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” questioned why Holker was speaking publicly about her late husband’s personal struggles.
“This whole thing made me sad. He’s gone. Why tear apart this name?” Gibson commented on a recent Instagram post from People. “I was fully supportive about you moving (on) and being happy but this@paycheck was not worth disgracing his name.”
Holker responded to Gibson in the comments, writing, “I’ll always love you. Just trying to help people feel safe to ask for help and support.”
Gibson then apologized for her initial criticism.
“I love you too. It’s so hard to hear and I imagine it can’t be easy going through what you’ve been through,” she wrote. “There will be a lot of hate thrown your way but it’s not for me to judge splice a difficult situation. It’s just so hard to digest. I can’t imagine how you feel so I apologize for jumping to conclusions.”
More comments on People’s post echoed Gibson’s criticism.
Others who knew Holker and Boss also weighed in. Courtney Ann Platt, who competed on “So You Think You Can Dance” with Boss and said she was in the couple’s wedding, wrote a critical post on Instagram. Platt characterized Holker’s interview with People as a “smear campaign” and “opportunistic.”
In her recent People interview, Holker opened up about how she has been processing Boss’ death, and recalled how Boss wanted to be the “perfect” husband and father.
Boss and Holker shared three children, Weslie, 16, Maddox, 8, and Zaia, 5.
Holker also said she read her late husband’s journals, which left her with “empathy towards him and sadness for all the pain that he was holding.”
“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 told People. “He didn’t want other people to take on his pain.”