Allison Holker insists she’s not “disgracing” her late husband Stephen “tWitch” Boss’ legacy by revealing his alleged addiction issues.
“This whole thing made me sad. He’s gone. Why tear apart his name?” fitness trainer and fellow dancer Kelly Gibson commented on People’s Instagram post about the magazine’s interview with Holker.
“I was fully supportive about you moving [on] and being happy but this paycheck was not worth disgracing his name.”
Holker — who, along with Boss, had a friendly working relationship with Gibson — replied, “I’ll always love you. Just trying to help people feel safe to ask for help and support.”
But swarms of netizens echoed Gibson’s sentiments, writing things like, “Tell us ‘you weren’t his safe space’ without telling us.”
Someone else remarked, “So disappointed in your decision to expose things he didn’t want anyone to know. How sadly opportunistic of you, Allison.”
Another noted, “I felt so much pain for you however now you’ve aired all of his private business for everyone to hear without him having the ability to defend himself is such a betrayal. Pretty disappointing.”
A third critic even questioned Holker’s explanation, arguing, “Put some respect on that man’s name. He should’ve be able to trust YOU dead or alive. Your reason, cause you want to help others, this was not the way. Very disappointed! May God bless and watch over his kids.”
Candiace Dillard also expressed concern for the couple’s children: daughter Weslie, 16 (whom Boss adopted), son Maddox, 8, and daughter Zaia, 5.
“This white woman is doing everything BUT protecting her Black children and her Black husband’s legacy,” the “Real Housewives of Potomac” alum posted on X, pointing out that Holker “could’ve kept this in her therapist’s office.”
In her sit-down with People, which was published Tuesday, Holker claimed she found a “cornucopia” of drugs — including mushrooms, pills and “other substances” she had to “look up” on her phone — hidden inside shoeboxes shortly after Boss’ December 2022 death by suicide at the age of 40.
The former “So You Think You Can Dance” star, 36, thought she and the fellow show alum had “very honest” communication, as she knew he smoked marijuana and drank alcohol in their guesthouse after the kids went to bed.
“That was his alone time. It was his time to recharge, and that was OK,” Holker told the magazine, going on to claim that the former “Ellen DeGeneres Show” DJ alluded to being sexually abused by a male figure during his childhood in several of his journal entries.
She explained that reading the private passages after his passing helped her “feel a lot of empathy towards him and sadness for all the pain that he was holding.”
Holker — who will go into more detail in her forthcoming memoir, “This Far: My Story of Love, Loss, and Embracing the Light” — insisted she was publicizing Boss’ struggles in the hopes that “people dealing with the same thing will help themselves out of the shadows and [know] you’re going to be OK.”
Despite the overwhelming backlash to the interview, some internet users — including members of the dance community — defended the “brave” mom of three for being “an example of how perseverance can pay off.”
Holker reposted several supportive reactions on her Instagram Story, including one that read in part, “You always take everything with so much grace, power & positivity. Nobody does it like you.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Substance Abuse Service Helpline (SASH) at 844-804-7500.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
