The entire entertainment industry is in mourning following the painful death of Stephen 'tWitch' Boss, which occurred on Tuesday and was confirmed to be suicide. The event has raised more concern about prioritizing mental health, and popular movie producer Tyler Perry is coming forward to give his own account of the many times he tried to commit suicide in the past.
Keep reading for the details.
Perry took to social media to commemorate with the friends, colleagues, and families of The Ellen DeGeneres Show's resident DJ, Boss, who passed on earlier this week. In a lengthy Instagram post, Perry wrote,
"I like the rest of the world am shocked by the death of Stephen Boss, tWitch," Perry said, adding, "I've only met him a couple of times. He always seemed full of life, it seemed like. Such a light."
In the same post, Perry took a quick trip down memory lane, including the many times he attempted to commit suicide in the past. He experienced so much darkness and pain that he thought he had no option but to cut the ropes.
"I just want to take you back to a time in my life when I tried to commit suicide, a couple of times, because it was so dark I didn't think it would get any better."
The Acrimony producer continued:
"I had endured so much pain, so much abuse, sexual abuse. It was all so hard to just move through that. I thought the only way to make this better was to end my life."
Perry added that if any of those attempts had fallen through, he would have missed the best part of his life, considering he has had a massive run of successful projects in the industry over the past decade; this claim couldn't be truer.
Perry, who is now in a much better place and the "happiest he's ever been," encouraged viewers on his post who are going through mental health issues never to hesitate to seek professional help. He recommended the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
"My hope is that if you need help, that you reach out," Perry said. "Call this number. God bless you. I'm with you. I'm a living witness you can make it through it. I'm so glad my attempts didn't work. I'm still alive. The best part of my life, and I would've missed it had I decided to end it."
The filmmaker rounded up the lengthy post urging people to begin the new year loving each other and giving each further encouragement.
"Let's end this new year loving us, loving on each other, encouraging ourselves, this is gonna take that from within. God bless you. Rest in peace, tWitch."
Boss died from self-inflicted gunshots at age 40. He left behind three children and his wife.
