Ellen DeGeneres tearfully remembered her late executive producer Matthew Wright in a video to fans on Monday, sharing that “everybody loved him” and his sudden death on Friday is “shocking.”
“He was an amazing guy. He was funny. God, he made me laugh. He would surprise me with things that he did all the time,” DeGeneres said through tears while sitting outside along the coast. “He was smart. He was kind. He was the part of our show that — I mean, everyone loved him. I loved him. And it’s just shocking — it’s shocking.”
Wright, who served as an EP on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” from 2006-2022, died in what his family described as an “unfathomable tragedy” in Los Angeles on Friday. They are raising money via a GoFundMe campaign to cover costs of transporting his remains back to New York City to his husband and family.
The bereft DeGeneres appeared to lose her train of thought a few times throughout the video, sharing in one breath that she and Wright were exploring working together again — “we were working on a project to do together that we were supposed to start” — and relating Wright’s loss to that of the “Ellen” dancer and emcee Stephen Laurel “tWitch” Boss in the next.
“He and tWitch were so close, so now he and tWitch are together, dancing and laughing,” the former talk show host said.
“We’re gonna miss him. He is and always will be the glue to our entire family at the ‘Ellen Show,’” she continued. “And to Justin, his husband, and to his family, I’m so sorry, because we lost a good guy. He was a good guy.”
The video ended with a montage of memorable moments Wright was featured onscreen on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” including a recurring segment “Strong Opinions With Matt,” in which he shared his hot takes on dining out, pillows and more.
A title card reading, “We love you, Matt,” ended the tribute.
According to the GoFundMe shared by his family, no immediate cause of death was given. His family asked friends and loved ones to help shoulder the burden of transporting his remains home and covering funeral expenses.
“In an unfathomable tragedy, Matt Wright passed away Oct 30th while working remotely in Los Angeles. His husband, father, sister and niece are in New York, desperate to be reunited for a proper goodbye,” the GoFundMe reads. “We’re asking for all of his friends, who Matt loved so fully, to help the family at this time. As many of you know, Matt and Justin were both laid off this summer. And the unexpected costs of getting Matt home, a funeral and a memorial are impossible for the family to bear.”
