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Two “Dancing With the Stars” alumni have started a war of words on social media over the deaths of both Stephen “tWitch” Boss in December 2022 and their sister and daughter Tytyana Miller back in May 2022.
Here’s what you need to know:
Romeo Accused His Father Master P of Caring More About Twitch’s Death Than His Own Children’s Struggles
The feud started because rapper Snoop Dogg posted a tribute to Stephen “tWitch” Boss, the “So You Think You Can Dance” all-star dancer and “Ellen DeGeneres Show” DJ who died by suicide on December 14, as first reported by TMZ.
Snoop posted a video of them dancing together on “Ellen” and wrote, “R.I.P. Twitch. Save a dance for me.”
In rapper Master P’s (real name Percy Miller Sr.) Instagram stories (screengrabs of which can be seen here), he wrote, “RIP to the one and only dancing #DJTwitch and salute @snoopdoog for celebrating him! These are crazy times we are living in, you can be smiling one day and gone the next! Life is too short, appreciate your loved ones… #mentalillness is real.”
Romeo Miller, Master P’s son, re-posted that in his own stories and then accused his father of caring more about Boss’s death than his own children’s struggles, writing, “Today was a boiling point. [I] seen a man avoid his own children struggle with suicide and depression, but post another man whom passed today that he doesn’t even know. Y’all idols be lost. Better stop following the blind. Watch when it’s revealed.”
Master P responded in a now-deleted Instagram post where he said the “door is always open” for Romeo, but that he “won’t tolerate disrespect.”
Master P wrote:
I wouldn’t wish this on no parent, esecially when you try to do everything you can for your kids. @Romeomiller, what’s the plan? You are either part of the problem or the solution. I love you and the door is always open for you, but I won’t tolerate disrespect. I haven’t talked to you or seen you in months. God knows I’ve tried to do my best.
This new generation of kids need to stop blaming their parents for everything. How do they think they got to where they are without their parents making sacrifices for them?
Mental illness is real and so many families are tragically affected by it, especially when there is added trauma like death of a loved one.
Social media is not the place for healing.
Son, I love you. Stop trying to get people to feel sorry for you. And let’s come up with a solution. You can come talk to your father and your family, like a man, you have kids too. No family is perfect, but together with God, we can heal and get through this.
Tytyana Miller died in May 2022 from an accidental fentanyl overdose; People first reported the official cause of death when it was released in October. Both Master P and Romeo have been outspoken about their grief and also Tyty’s (as they called her) struggle with addiction, which was even a featured storyline for the family when they appeared on “Growing Up Hip Hop.”
In an interview with “CBS Mornings” in July 2022, Master P said that he definitely feels guilty about his daughter’s death and wondering if he could have done more.
“Every parent [feels that guilt]. I feel like I could’ve done more, but you never know. We’ve been going through this for nine years and you think, ‘Oh, you know what, she’s gonna get past this, we’re gonna go on and live happily every after,’” said Master P at the time, adding, “When you look at mental illness and substance abuse, it’s serious. It affects everybody — Black, white, Asian, Latino, rich, poor. … Anybody that’s watching this — love your loved ones while they’re here because once you walk out that door, you never know who’s gonna come back … My daughter had a lot of life left in her and she was a happy woman that knew that tomorrow she could do something better.”
Romeo Also Accused His Father of ‘Gaslighting’ Him & That Master P’s Image is ‘a Mirage’
Romeo responded to his father’s post calling him disrespectful both in the comments on the post and in his own Instagram stories where he said he was simply trying to speak his truth.
“Geesh, talk about gaslighting. I truly believe my pops did the best he could from his understanding, but he’s painted a picture of perfection and success that has caused more harm than good. I have no other choice but to speak my truth. An artist[‘s] truth is all they have, it’s why I stepped away the first time as a kid,” wrote Romeo in his Instagram stories.
In the comments on the now-deleted post, Romeo also said that the image his father portrays of being a wealthy, successful businessman is “a mirage.”
Romeo’s responses to other people’s comments included:
- “Man, we been living month to month since I was 18, s***’s a mirage.”
- “I been taking care of pops, bro, never touched no Lil Romeo money, all went to pay of[f] his IRS taxes. I’ve been more than loyal. The truth will set us all free tho.”
- “All my siblings are broke, bro. Never even had money to afford college. And nothing is wrong with that, he just shouldn’t paint a certain life that isn’t real. One big house to stunt in is a minimum way of thinking.”
Romeo also posted a response to his father’s comments where he said that social media is the only way to communicate with his father.
“@masterp dad, please stop reading the comments and editing your caption: I’m the one who sette[d] up the family meeting to talk after Tyty death, that meeting was regarding as disrespectful for being transparent. I pulled up to the crib time and time after that and you deflect, I’ve texted you countless times and you reply and deflect. Social media is THE ONLY WAY YOU COMMUNICATE. Now you wanna talk. Anything to protect that image,” wrote Romeo.
Romeo also accused his father of being “addicted to social media” and said that “mom was always right” in that Master P’s pride is the most important thing.
Romeo wrote:
This was my last straw, pops, stop trying to play the victim. I loved you so much that I followed you blindly for 30+ yrs. You know we’ve talked behind closed doors. You aren’t the man who you paint to be and why is it war because I refuse to follow ur lead. You only want to protect your image, but the image isn’t even real. And I don’t need anyone to feel sorry for me, pops, I’m truly a man of God. If you are really a man of God, then you will prevail in the end, even when I share my truth.
I’ve tried to keep things in house, you are addicted to social media and unfortunately use this app as therapy. 3k plus post. And when the world find out about the finances, outside of a gift or a car I’ve never been paid for anything I’ve accomplished as Lil Romeo. Uncle C and Silkk know. You only pay outsiders rightfully so they’ll speak good on your name. I’m at peace because I can now speak my truth and help others. Mom was always right. Your pride is everything.
To this, Master P wrote another post that accused Romeo of being only concerned with money.
“I thought this was about DJ Twitch and about my daughter’s death. This is heartbreaking, you just exposed that this is REALLY ABOUT MONEY,” wrote the rapper. “I watched other celebrities go through this. I’m not playing into this anymore. GOD knows the Truth. I’M AT PEACE. I worked hard to get my family out the ghetto. Every time I fell off, I got up and went to work, I didn’t blame anyone for my failures. You started this social media rant. So what’s your plan besides showing the world you’re entitled, spoiled at 30+, and throwing a tantrum on social media.
“I never claimed to be perfect. I’m not afraid to admit I’m still growing as a man and a parent. Everybody deals with death in different ways. I get it, I’m just an ATM to this family. I don’t care about an image. The bloggers can have their laughs this week. I’m going to keep working, keep praying and letting GOD guide me. Mental illness is real.”
Finally, after deleting these posts, Master P took to his Instagram stories for a final message, saying that he is “not an ATM machine” for his family and he will not help “ungrateful people.”
Master P said in his stories:
Today a sad day because I gotta get out of character and put this on the internet, which I don’t want to do. But I try to call my son … he don’t call back, it’s been months. So my question is to Romeo — like, if you’ve been in the business for as long as you’ve been in and you a 30-something-year-old man, and if you’ve been around me, watching me hustle and do my thing, why you not where you wanna be at? Because that mean you not listening. That mean you wanna do your own thing. You done brought your own circle, your own circle of people. But you can’t get mad at me ’cause I really thought this was about — the only reason I entertain this on social media, I thought this was about the DJ Twitch postthat I put up and I thought it was about my daughter’s death. I thought you was grieving. Mental illness is real. But I want to tell all the people out there that just don’t understand how bad my heart hurts. Romeo lost a sister, but I lost a daughter.
For any parent that’s going through this, because I know that it bring people closer together or it tear them apart. But I come from nothing, y’all, and I can go back. I’m cool with it. I won’t be angry at God, I won’t be upset, I won’t go get mad and be disrespectful to my parents and none of that stuff.
But that’s the problem — when you take kids and you kind of like protect them from the real struggle and the pain and you don’t allow them to deal with their own consequences, and then when they grow older. The saddest thing about this is that what the people want to see, they want to see destruction. If you destroy me, what are you going to do for the rest of the family? Are you gonna take care of ’em?
You told me on the post that you put up, ‘Oh, you gonna take care of people in the community.’ That’s what you’re supposed to do when you come from nothing. You gonna help people. I’m just not helping ungrateful people. I’m not an ATM machine. People can’t just say they love me when I give them something.
Romeo’s final message on the subject was to post a photo of a poem he wrote called “The Tree of Trauma,” writing in the caption that “poetry is one of the most powerful forms of therapy.”
“Let’s educate and break these cycles together! Your mental health is just like a muscle that needs to be built and treated. The next generation will grow stronger because of our truths and as a man of God, I know mines will one day too. The Tree of Trauma,” wrote Romeo.
The poem says in part, “Why do you want to be patted on the back so badly for doing good, when as God fearing men and women, we are supposed to do that? … Why is being right to strangers so much more important than being vulnerable at home? … Why is that you can’t take the same heat as our mother can? Mama weathered the dragging of media for years, with no voice; because she doesn’t kneel to man. … My mother was broken for years publicly and still from the concrete she rose.”
Master P competed on season two of “Dancing With the Stars” with partner Ashly DelGrosso, finishing in 7th place. Romeo Miller competed on season 12, finishing in 5th place with his partner Chelsie Hightower.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, dial 988 to reach the toll-free Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week (dial 888-628-9454 for assistance in Spanish). You can also speak with a trained crisis counselor anytime by texting HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.