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American Military News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- American Military News
Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis dies after battle with breast cancer
Ananda Lewis, former MTV video jockey and television show host, has died at 52 after a years-long battle with breast cancer. Lewis rose to fame on BET's 'Teen Summit' and hosted 'The Ananda Lewis Show' in the early aughts, before being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. Her sister, Lakshmi Emory, broke the news of Lewis' death in a Facebook post, writing, '[S]he's free and in His heavenly arms. Lord rest her soul.' Emory told TMZ that Lewis died Wednesday morning from Stage 4 breast cancer while in hospice care at her Los Angeles home. Lewis grew up in San Diego and graduated from Howard University in 1995. She began her entertainment career as the host of 'Teen Summit,' where she discussed issues affecting teenagers and interviewed then-first lady Hillary Clinton. MTV then hired her to be a VJ in 1997 and she quickly gained popularity hosting shows such as 'Total Request Live' and 'Hot Zone.' In 1999, the New York Times called her 'the hip-hop generation's reigning It Girl.' She left the network in 2001 to host her own talk show and later worked as a correspondent for entertainment news show 'The Insider.' She revealed her cancer diagnosis in a 2020 Instagram post, saying that she had not been getting mammograms due to her fears around radiation and urging her follows to make sure they are staying on top of their breast exams. 'This is tough for me, but if just ONE woman decides to get her mammogram after watching this, what I'm going through will be worth it,' she said. She spoke at length about her battle with the disease in a 2024 roundtable discussion with CNN correspondents Stephanie Elam, who was one of her close friends, and Sara Sidner, a breast cancer survivor. Lewis described first discovering a lump in her breast in 2019 and said that, although doctors recommended a double mastectomy at the time, she opted to pursue alternative therapies and focus on cleansing her body of toxins and emotional stress. She later relocated to Arizona, where she combined holistic and conventional treatments through approaches such as insulin-potentiation chemotherapy — where patients take lower chemotherapy doses because of a theory that insulin lets more of the drug enter cells. She said she encountered financial difficulties that made it challenging to keep up with her holistic regimen of treatment. By October 2023, her scans showed that the cancer had metastasized in her spine, through her hips and into her lymph nodes. During the roundtable, Lewis highlighted the fact that Black women are at a disproportionately high risk of dying from breast cancer, attributing that, in part, to a mistrust of the medical system. 'Our inability to be comfortable with doctors goes way back,' she said. 'We have a rightful distrust of the medical industry that we need to get over, but we are not going to negate that it came from somewhere and that it's real.' Although Black women and white women are affected by breast cancer at similar rates, Black women are around 40% more likely to die from the disease, according to data compiled by the American Cancer Society. ___ © 2025 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
New York Post
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Ananda Lewis' sister reveals former MTV VJ's dying wish
Ananda Lewis had one dying wish before her heartbreaking passing. Lakshmi Emory, Lewis' sister, said that the former MTV video jockey hoped to live long enough to make it to her 14-year-old son Langston's middle school graduation day. 'Her wish was to live to his graduation day,' Emory told Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, 'and she did exactly that.' 8 Ananda Lewis' dying wish has been revealed. Getty Images 8 Lakshmi Emory, Lewis' sister, said that the former MTV video jockey hoped to live long enough to make it to her son Langston's graduation day. Facebook Lewis died on Wednesday, June 11, at the age of 52. Her son, whom she had with Will Smith's brother, Harry Smith, in 2011, graduated from middle school later that same day. Although Lewis' cause of death has not been revealed, she passed away following a lengthy battle with breast cancer. Her sister announced the devastating news in a short Facebook post shared Wednesday afternoon. 8 Lewis welcomed her son Langston in 2011 with Will Smith's brother, Harry Smith. 'She's free, and in His heavenly arms,' Emory wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of her late sister. 'Lord, rest her soul.' 'She was my stubborn little sister who shone brightly, loved fiercely and was my number one cheerleader,' Emery added in a second Facebook post shared Thursday. 'Hard/headed and tender-hearted…smart as a whip…we finished each other's sentences.' 'I had her back and she had mine,' Emory continued. 'There are no words to express the depth of the devastation I feel. My life will never be the same, without her. Rest now.' 8 Emory announced the devastating news in a short Facebook post shared on Wednesday. Facebook 8 Lewis' passing came after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. WireImage Lewis first announced that she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in an Instagram video shared in October 2020. While Lewis revealed that she had been diagnosed almost two years earlier, she also insisted that she had 'no intention' of leaving her son, friends and other family members behind despite the shocking diagnosis. 'I have a 9-year-old I need to be here for,' Lewis said at the time. 'I have no intention on leaving him. I don't want to leave my friends, my family.' 8 The MTV alum announced her breast cancer diagnosis on Instagram in October 2020. imanandalewis/Instagram 'Hell, I don't want to leave myself,' she added. 'I like being here.' Sadly, the former 'The Ananda Lewis Show' host later announced that her breast cancer had progressed to Stage 4 during an interview with CNN in 2024. She also admitted that she opted against undergoing a double mastectomy despite her doctor's suggestion. 8 Lewis joined MTV as a video jockey in 1997. FilmMagic In January, just months before her tragic passing, Lewis opened up about her breast cancer journey in an essay published in Essence magazine. 'I don't want to spend one more minute than I have to suffering unnecessarily,' she wrote. 'That, for me, is not the quality of life I'm interested in.' 'When it's time for me to go,' she added, 'I want to be able to look back on my life and say, 'I did that exactly how I wanted to.'' 8 Lewis left MTV in 2001 to host her own show, 'The Ananda Lewis Show.' WireImage CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam, one of Lewis' closest friends, visited the MTV alum just one day before her passing. 'We thought we had weeks, and it turned out that it turned into days, and it turned out it was just a matter of hours,' Elam said on Friday. 'It happened very quickly how things changed.' The journalist then shared Lewis' last text message to her. 'You know my feelings on this. We all go,' Lewis reportedly wrote to her. 'These bodies are on loan and must be returned. We come in love and choose to leave it with love as well.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ananda Lewis, Former MTV VJ and Talk Show Host, Dies at 52
Ananda Lewis has died at the age of 52. The former MTV VJ's sister Lakshmi announced news of her death in a Facebook post shared on Wednesday, June 11. "She's free, and in His heavenly arms," she wrote, alongside a series of broken heart emojis and a black and white portrait of Lewis. "Lord, rest her soul 🙏🏽" Lewis became well known in 1997 when she was hired to be one of MTV's VJs, hosting shows like Total Request Live and Hot Zone. In 1999, The New York Times dubbed her 'the hip-hop generation's reigning It Girl.' She left MTV in 2001 to host her own talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show. Lewis revealed in a 2020 Instagram post that she had been diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. She said that she had not been getting regular mammograms because of her fear of radiation. In October 2024, Lewis took part in a roundtable discussion with CNN's Stephanie Elam (her friend from college) and CNN anchor Sara Sidner in which she revealed that she went against medical advice and did not have a double mastectomy after she was diagnosed. Her tumor had metastasized, and her cancer had progressed to stage IV, she shared. 'My plan at first was to get out excessive toxins in my body. I felt like my body is intelligent, I know that to be true. Our bodies are brilliantly made,' Lewis said. 'I decided to keep my tumor and try to work it out of my body a different way. . . . I wish I could go back. It's important for me to admit where I went wrong with this.' Lewis was born in Los Angeles in 1973. Her parents divorced when she was 2, and she and her sister, Lakshmi, moved with her mother to live with their grandmother in San Diego. In 1999, Lewis opened up to Teen People about her difficult relationship with her mother as a child and teenager. 'Mom was overwhelmed from the get-go, devastated by the divorce and working hard to support two kids,' she said. But Lewis felt neglected and 'built up a lot of resentment toward her.' 'By the time I was 10, I'd become a belligerent, rebellious kid, and my mother and I were fighting about everything,' she explained. She attended an arts high school and spent her time in school plays and volunteering. After graduating from Howard University in 1995, she landed a job as the host of BET's Teen Summit, which filmed in D.C. In one episode, she interviewed then First Lady Hillary Clinton. 'That experience got me noticed at MTV and in August of 1997, I moved to New York and started working there,' she told Teen People. Months earlier, in December 1996, she had reconciled with her mother after a period of estrangement. 'I decided to close the chapter on being hateful and resentful toward my mom and open a new one that focused on love, forgiveness and appreciation for her,' she explained. Lewis became one of MTV's most popular hosts. ''In the past, our talent was sometimes just pretty people who could read cue cards,'' Bob Kusbit, then MTV's senior vice president for production told The New York Times in 1999 about her talents. ''But when we brought Ananda to MTV, we decided we were going to do a lot more live television, and I was first and foremost interested in her ability to do live TV.'' Lewis interviewed celebrities including Destiny's Child, Brandy, NSYNC, Britney Spears and many more. She also ended up covering heavier topics for the network, including violence in schools and the 2001 death of Aaliyah, who was her close friend. In 2000, PEOPLE named Lewis one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. She also made frequent appearances at celebrity events. Even Prince was a vocal fan; he told The New York Times, 'Ananda is Cleopatra. You know she's a queen.' Lewis left her MTV role in 2001 and began hosting her eponymous talk show. "I wanted a change," she told Teen People at the time. "It was a matter of proving to myself that I can do [this]." The series — which premiered Sept. 10, 2001 — lasted one season. Reflecting on the series to Shondaland, Lewis said, 'I wish I had stopped the people that wanted me to do the [talk] show and said, 'Not yet, it's a little too early to do this.' It was overkill for me.' She said she wasn't happy with the show, explaining, 'It wasn't what I felt like I signed up for.' Lewis took a break from television and later appeared as a host on The Insider, a spin-off of Entertainment Tonight. She also appeared on the reality series Celebrity Mole: Yucatán and hosted A&E's America's Top Dog and TLC's While You Were Out. Lewis also became a contractor and carpenter. MTV News shut down in 2023. Lewis reflected in a statement to PEOPLE at the time, "A pillar of creative and diverse speech is crumbling. MTV News covered things no one else could. We could get inside the trailer with DMX and Korn as they were taking historic concert stages. Artists trusted MTV News to tell their stories." She added: "Even though I was technically a VJ, I did many specials with MTV News and know firsthand what a huge loss this is for the culture of music and all who love it." In 2011, Lewis welcomed son Langston with Harry Smith, brother of Will Smith. Lewis is survived by her son. Read the original article on People
Refinery29
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Refinery29
Ananda Lewis Made Room For Us To Be Seen & Built A Legacy We Stand On
Lewis, known for her role as a host on Total Request Live, The Ananda Lewis Show and BET 's Teen Summit, had a voice that was as special as it was resonant. There were two definitive points in my life when I remember Lewis having a huge impact on how I navigate this world. The first was as a little Black girl, watching her break down pop culture moments, discuss serious societal issues and interview some of my favorite celebrities. It was mesmerizing. Seeing her report, inform and entertain opened doors for so many coming up behind her. Of course, we had icons like Oprah Winfrey and the late Gwen Ifill making strides onscreen at the same time, but Lewis felt more accessible and relatable to millennials. She commanded the camera naturally, infusing her own lived experiences into the questions she asked. Lewis connected with both her interviewees and her audience. In a male-dominated industry in the '90s and early 2000s, she challenged social norms and empowered women. ' And though I didn't yet know I'd be walking in her footsteps—or even that what she was doing was journalism at that time—I looked up to her early on. ' It was clear to me why she was a fixture on my screen: She made journalism cool. And though I didn't yet know I'd be walking in her footsteps—or even that what she was doing was journalism at that time—I looked up to her early on. Her legacy was part of the reason I chose to attend Howard University (HU), where she, too, was an alum. In 1999, Bob Kusbit, MTV senior vice president for production at the time, told The New York Times, "In the past our talent was sometimes just pretty people who could read cue cards. But when we brought Ananda to MTV, we decided we were going to do a lot more live television." The second moment I vividly remember Lewis impacting me came in October 2020, when she shared her breast cancer diagnosis through an Instagram video. In the midst of a pandemic, when the value of public health became more urgent and evident than it ever felt like before, this woman I had grown up admiring revealed she had been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. 'I am sharing this with you because it's the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I have been fighting to get cancer out of my body for two years,' she said in her post. 'For a really long time, I have refused mammograms and that was a mistake.' From that point on, she made it her mission to educate and inform women about the importance of early detection through self-exams and mammograms. She shared Instagram posts and spoke openly with the press to raise awareness about regular screenings for early detection. 'I need you to get your mammograms,' she emotionally declared. Lewis also shared the holistic lifestyle changes she implemented after her diagnosis. ' We're worse off without her physical presence, but better off because of how she chose to live her life. Her light and her legacy lives on. ' By the time her cancer advanced to stage 4, she was no longer able to get the double mastectomy she needed. Under COVID-19 guidelines, it was deemed a 'non-emergency.' She told The Epoch Times that the disease had spread to her spine, hips and liver. Even then, she didn't let her condition dim her light. She used her platform to spread life-saving information for other women without letting cancer define her. Lewis died Wednesday at age 52, her sister Lakshmi Emory confirmed in a Facebook post. Without a doubt, Lewis' vulnerability and commitment to the truth made her such an impactful figure. If you look around at the current media landscape of Black women—names like Ivie Ani, Sylvia Obell, Taylor Crumpton, Danielle Young, Sidney Madden, myself and so many others— we all stand on her shoulders in some respect. The double whammy of losing Lewis and former MuchMusic VJ Juliette Powell in the same week is heavy. In a 2024 interview with CNN, Lewis spoke candidly about how her diagnosis altered her life. 'The cancer diagnosis caused me to change things in my life I never would have changed otherwise, that I needed to change but would not change,' she said. 'And those changes have allowed me access to more of my joy, more of the time.' Lewis fought gracefully and with determination. We're worse off without her physical presence, but better off because of how she chose to live her life. Her light and her legacy lives on.
Scottish Sun
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
MTV VJ Ananda Lewis made desperate plea in final video message to fans before her tragic death at 52
Ananda's death was announced by her sister this week 'PLEASE LEARN' MTV VJ Ananda Lewis made desperate plea in final video message to fans before her tragic death at 52 MTV VJ Ananda Lewis made a desperate plea in a final video message to her fans, before her tragic death at 52. Yesterday, it was revealed that Ananda, the Talk show and 90s MTV host, had died after a long battle with breast cancer. 3 MTV VJ Ananda Lewis made a desperate plea in a final video message to her fans, before her tragic death at 52 Credit: Instagram/iamamandalewis 3 The star's plea in a final video message resurfaced, which saw Ananda speaking to fans just over three months ago Credit: Instagram/iamamandalewis Her sister Lakshmi announced the news of the 52-year-old's death in a Facebook post. She said: "She's free and in his heavenly arms. Lord, rest her soul." In 2020, Ananda revealed she had been diagnosed with stage three cancer. She said she had not been getting regular mammograms due to a fear of radiation. Read More on MTV STAR GONE Talk show & 90s MTV host dies after breast cancer battle aged 52 In 2024, the late TV host revealed her cancer had reached stage four after she went against medical advice and refused a double mastectomy. Now, the star's plea in a final video message has resurfaced, which saw Ananda speaking to fans just over three months ago. She could be seen sitting in her pyjamas on her sofa, and told fans in the caption: 'Prevention IS the cure 💕If you're in a healthy body, you're holding a winning lotto ticket. PLEASE learn how to avoid cancer. Because you still can.' And then in the video, she can be heard discussing cancer prevention, and says: 'It doesn't matter about the bad things going on with my body right now. 'What does matter is keeping you out of this club. There are things I wish I did differently 10 years ago to prevent cancer.' She also encouraged people to grab an issue of Essence, and said: 'You could learn something,' before saying: 'Prevention is the cure because preserving your health is way easier than fighting to get it back.' Ananda Lewis dead aged 52: Talk show & 90s MTV host dies after breast cancer battle Ananda rose to fame in the late 90s when she landed a role as one of MTV's VJ's where she hosted the likes of Total Request Live and Hot Zone. In 1999, The New York Times described her as 'the hip-hop generation's reigning It Girl.' She left MTV in 2001 to host her own talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show. Ananda grew to be one of MTV's most popular hosts - interviewing some of Hollywood's biggest stars. Bob Kusbit, then MTV's senior vice president for production told The New York Times: ''In the past, our talent was sometimes just pretty people who could read cue cards,'' ''But when we brought Ananda to MTV, we decided we were going to do a lot more live television, and I was first and foremost interested in her ability to do live TV.''
