Executive Producer Matthew Wright, Longtime Ellen Show Contributor, Dies at 52

Matthew Wright, who served as an executive producer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for 16 years and frequently appeared in the segment “Strong Opinions with Matt,” died on Friday, Oct. 30 while working remotely in Los Angeles. He was 52; the cause of death has not been disclosed.

A GoFundMe campaign was created to help his husband, family members in New York, and to cover costs associated with bringing his body home, a funeral, and a memorial. The campaign notes that Wright and his partner, Justin, were laid off earlier in the summer, adding financial strain to the family.

"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," Ellen DeGeneres said in a video posted after his death.

"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. 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," fellow producer Andy Lassner wrote on social media.

Wright began his television career as a producer on the SoapNet series Soap Talk (2002-06) and later contributed to episodes of Ellen’s Game of Games (2017-18) and the 2009 special Ellen’s Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Colleagues described him as a central, unifying presence on the show.