Young ‘Ellen’ Talk Show Favorite Dies of Cancer: Ellen DeGeneres Mourns Passing of ‘Very Special Guest’

Ellen DeGeneres is mourning the loss of a talk show guest turned friend. She shared a touching tribute to a frequent guest of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Tayt Andersen, who died on Sept. 26.

He was 19. His death was the result of cancer. 

“We had a very special guest on the show several times and his name is Tayt,” Ellen said in an Instagram video she posted shortly after his passing. “He thought that I was his girlfriend, and so I told him he was my boyfriend.” Sharing fond memories of her time with him, she said he was “a very special little human being and just brought joy and life and laughter into every room that he was in. I will miss him.”

In a montage of his appearances on the daytime talk show, his mother Chrissy Andersen shared that he had been born with half a heart. While recovering from surgeries, he took joy in watching DeGeneres’ talk show.

He had 12 before the age of 9. He requested that any doctors appointments happen before or after The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He would force the nurses sit with him while he watched every episode.

His family shared the news of his death in an Instagram, reporting that he died early in the morning on Sept. 26 “surrounded by the fierce love of his family” following a 2024 bladder cancer diagnosis. “While our souls feel shattered and lost by this unimaginable grief,” the caption read, “we are so thankful that Tayt is finally free. No more pain, no more appointments, no more treatments.” He recently got an infection, per the post, noting that “he was so alert and responsive on Sunday,” he was in terrible pain the rest of the night and “remained asleep and unresponsive, resting comfortably, until he passed away peacefully early this morning.”

The family spent the day before his death “calling and FaceTiming family so they could say their goodbyes,” while also watching his favorite movies and reading his favorite books. “We knew Tayt time was limited,” they wrote, “but we honestly just weren’t ready to lose him. There are truly no words to describe this pain; we are just moving through this painful process, grateful for every moment we had with our amazing boy.”