Tearful Ellen DeGeneres mourns her longtime executive producer Matthew Wright, who died at 52 in an 'unfathomable tragedy'

Wright served as executive producer on the show for 16 years, from 2006 through its 2022 finale. He died on 30 October in Los Angeles, where he had been working remotely; no cause of death has been released. A GoFundMe campaign for his family had surpassed $42,000 of its $50,000 target, with DeGeneres contributing $5,000 of her own money.

Wright and his husband, Justin Fusella, had both been laid off earlier this year, leaving the family unable to cover funeral and travel costs.

Fellow producer Andy Lassner disclosed that Wright had visited his set in the hours immediately preceding his death, describing him as 'a brilliant producer and an even better human being.'

According to DeGeneres, the two were about to embark on a new project together at the time of his sudden death.