Ellen DeGeneres' longtime producer Matthew Wright's cause of death revealed... one week after his sudden passing

Ellen DeGeneres' longtime producer Matthew Wright's cause of death has been revealed following his sudden passing at age 52. 

Wright, who had worked on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for 16 years, died in an 'unfathomable tragedy' on Friday, October 30, according to a GoFundMe page created to help his devastated family. 

The late producer passed away from cardiopulmonary arrest, per a death certificate obtained by People. Hypertension was also listed as an underlying cause. 

Cardiopulmonary arrest occurs with 'the cessation of adequate heart function and respiration,' per the National Institutes of Health. 

Other contributing conditions that were listed on the death certificate were Class II obesity and obstructive sleep apnea, per People. 

Following Wright's death, DeGeneres posted a video sobbing as she paid tribute to her former colleague earlier this week on Monday.

'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,' she said. 

'He was smart, he was kind, he was part of our show. everyone loved him.'

Tearing up, she continued: 'I loved him and it's just shocking. We were working on a project together that we were supposed to start.

'We're gonna miss him, he is and always will be the glue to our entire family at the Ellen Show. I'm so sorry because we lost a good guy.'

DeGeneres added, 'And he and tWitch [the late Stephen Boss, who died by suicide in 2022] were so close. And now he and tWitch are together, dancing and laughing.' 

A GoFundMe page was created to help support Wright's grieving family. 

'His husband, father, sister and niece are in New York, desperate to be reunited for a proper goodbye. We're asking for all of his friends, who Matt loved so fully, to help the family at this time,' reads the fundraiser description.

'As many of you know, Matt & Justin were both laid off this summer. And the unexpected costs of getting Matt home, a funeral and a memorial are impossible for the family to bear.' 

The fundraising page posted an update revealing the nine-time Emmy winner had 'died suddenly but peacefully in his sleep.'

The update added, 'The sun may have prematurely set for our magical Matty, but his memory lives on in all of the sky's vibrant colors. He would want everyone to remember his most important rule of living - don't forget to course it out.

'The light of every room, Matt curated a beautiful life, menu by menu, sunset by sunset, person by person.

'He will be remembered for being everything everyone loved - sweetly stubborn and stubbornly sweet, persistently curious and curiously persistent, profoundly loving and lovingly profound.' 

DeGeneres notably gave a $5,000 donation to the GoFundMe page, but was soon blasted on social media as a 'cheapskate.'   

One X user wrote, 'Big spender. She was crying her eyes out so much why didn't she just pay the entire 50k.' 

Another penned, 'He was freaked out because both he and his husband were out of work and they had kids to support. She is heartless,' and one added, 'what a cheapskate @Ellen is!'

Wright had worked on DeGeneres' talk show for 16 years. 

When the show ended in 2022 amid a storm of controversy over an alleged toxic workplace environment, he wrote: 'How do I even begin to sum up 16 years of my life?

'I've made so many best friends, had so many amazing experiences, met so many heroes of mine and even fell in love thanks to this show.

'I will forever be grateful to @theellenshow for taking a chance on me and changing my life! Here’s to an amazing run!'

Andy Lassner, a fellow EP on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, revealed he had seen Wright just 'hours' before he died.

He wrote on Instagram: 'These photos were taken Thursday, while we were taping our Halloween show. Matt came by to visit.

'A few hours later, he was gone. 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.

'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.'

DeGeneres paused her grieving from the sudden death of her former producer to celebrate the big midterm elections victory for the Democrats, dubbed the 'blue wave' or even 'blue tsunami,' on Tuesday after fleeing the US for England.

The former TV personality took to Instagram to share a selfie with wife Portia de Rossi as they tagged several liberals who earned election night wins.

Both she and de Rossi fled the country for the English countryside after Trump's 2024 US presidential election win.

In July 2025, DeGeneres spoke with broadcaster Richard Bacon as she confirmed Trump was the reason she left. 

DeGeneres said at the time, 'We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, "He got in." And we're like, "We're staying here."'