Two years after the death of her husband Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Allison Holker is speaking out. And Boss’ family and friends are outraged.
Holker, 36, opened up to People magazine in a revealing interview to promote her memoir, “This Far” (out next month). In the interview, published Tuesday, Holker recalls discovering a “cornucopia” of drugs in Boss’ shoeboxes ahead of his funeral. Boss, a choreographer, DJ and former co-host of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” died by suicide at 40 on Dec. 13, 2022.
“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,” she told the magazine, describing the drugs as mushrooms, pills and “other substances.”
She continued: “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.”
Now, family and friends are outraged by Holker’s decision to speak about Boss’ alleged addiction and release a memoir.
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On Tuesday, Boss’ cousin replied to a post on X about Holker tarnishing Boss’ “legacy,” claiming that Holker hasn’t let Boss’ family see their three children. The family member added: “He wasn’t an addict. He smoked weed and was actively trying to quit. He wasn’t some junkie.”
USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Holker for comment.
Holker has three children: 16-year-old Weslie Fowler, from a previous relationship, Maddox Laurel Boss, 8, and Zaia Boss, 5.
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In a separate tweet, the family member account named @wthDARIELLE continued: “This crazy woman made me and his actual family including (his mom) sign” a non-disclosure agreement “just to even attend the funeral. She’s been trying to tarnish his legacy … Only to exploit and LIE on my cousin. Hell no.”
The same person wrote in 2023 that the “majority” of his family and friends “were forced to sign an NDA” just to go to Boss’ funeral, “including his mom.”
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Other family and friends have chimed in, including friends Courtney Platt and Emmanuel Hurd.
“This is by far the most tacky, classless, opportunistic act I have ever seen in my entire life,” Platt wrote on Instagram Tuesday, confirming the use of NDAs at Boss’ funeral. “… even his own mother who you’ve treated like garbage this entire time.”
Platt continued: “Not to share anything or ruin his name as if that was on anyone’s mind in the first place and here you go and write a book with all the dirty laundry smearing his name and attempting to dim the bright loyal, loving, light that was your husband, my friend.”
In January 2024, Holker published a children’s book, “Keep Dancing Through: A Boss Family Groove,” which named Boss as a co-author. They started writing the story in 2021, she said on “The School of Greatness” podcast that month.
At the time, Holker addressed public opinion on how she portrayed her grief. “I am such a public figure that people have a lot of opinions in how I should be handling myself, how I should be handling the grief and what they expect to see, what they expect me to say, what they expect to hear from me,” she said.
“I’ve always been a person that I have to do things my way in my own pacing in my own time and that’s going to come sometimes with a lot of emotion for other people,” she added. “And I think I’ve just had to challenge myself to stay my own course because I have to go through this at my time to be the best version of myself and the best version of my kids. And then I can come forward and use my voice and help as many people as I can.”
If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call 988 any time day or night, or chat online. Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental and/or substance use disorders, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s free and confidential treatment referral and information service at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It’s available 24/7 in English and Spanish (TTY: 1-800-487-4889).
Contributing: KiMi Robinson
