Matthew Wright, who helped shape The Ellen DeGeneres Show during his 16-year tenure as an executive producer, has died at 52. The news has shocked his colleagues, including DeGeneres, who called him “the glue to our entire family.”
Ellen DeGeneres had planned a new project with late producer Matt Wright
DeGeneres shared her own emotional message about his death, visibly struggling to hold back tears. She said, “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. 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. We’re gonna miss him. He is and always will be the glue to our entire family at the ‘Ellen Show.'” From 2006 to 2022, Wright worked behind the scenes on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Andy Lassner, a fellow executive producer, posted photos of himself and Wright together on the set of The Jennifer Hudson Show. He revealed that the pictures were taken on October 29, only “hours” before Wright’s death the following day. He wrote, “We are all in shock. 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.”
Lassner further stated, “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.”
According to a GoFundMe campaign, Wright was working remotely in Los Angeles when he passed away in an “unfathomable tragedy.” He had been laid off during the summer and was away from his family, who were in New York at the time of his death.
