Latest news with #TrueLife:IAmDrivingWhileBlack
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Ananda Lewis helped define the MTV VJ at the turn of the millennium
Music is a natural subject for people talking about it to bring their whole self into the mix, and Lewis did just that during her four-year MTV run: Early on in her tenure, she praised Queen of the Blues Dinah Washington en route to introducing the video for Snoop Dogg's 'Gin and Juice.' During a 2001 tribute to the late singer Aaliyah, she took time out from the script to give her own elegy to her friend and peer. She also had journalistic chops that MTV (and, before that, BET) let her flaunt, hosting 'True Life: I Am Driving While Black' and shows that dealt with the aftermath of the Columbine High School shooting. 'Ananda is Cleopatra. You know she's a queen,' Prince told the Advertisement 'Giving them the space to talk to people who would honor and respect who they were, especially brown people at the time, was really special,' she said in 2020. Three years later, Paramount Global shut down MTV's news division, and Lewis Lewis, who was born in Los Angeles in 1973 and grew up in San Diego, had her own talk show from 2001 to 2002 and hosted the celebrity news show 'The Insider' before stepping away from the entertainment world and becoming a carpenter in the 2010s. The short-lived 2019 reboot of 'While You Were Out' brought her two career trajectories together, and in recent years she'd popped up on documentaries that covered her era of MTV. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the late 2010s, and during a 2024 CNN roundtable, she revealed that it had progressed to Stage IV. Lewis died on June 11 at her home in Los Angeles, where she was in hospice care. Advertisement 'MTV was like going to an amusement park and having the FastPass to every ride, and you were on the ride with your favorite people every single time,' Lewis told Check the Rhymes TV. During the channel's reign as America's chief arbiter of pop music, Lewis and other standout VJs brought millions of viewers along for each trip with knowledge and enthusiasm. Maura Johnston is a writer and professor living in Allston. She can be reached at .
Forbes
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Ananda Lewis Broke Barriers As An MTV VJ. Her Life, Cut Short At 52, Should Be Celebrated
Ananda Lewis during 2005 MTV Movie Awards - Arrivals at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, ... More California, United States. (Photo by Jason Squires/WireImage) I, like millions of others who grew up in the 1990s, wanted my MTV. Sure, we were there for the videos. But the video jockeys, known as VJs, elevated the experience with the style and spice you could see, and not just hear, like radio DJs. Ananda Lewis was my favorite MTV VJ. She was more than a trailblazing television host. In many ways, she was an advocate for issues of the day as well as a 'TV friend' during my most formative years. Tragically, at the age of 52, she lost her battle with breast cancer on June 11, 2025. While breast cancer deaths are on the decline, the CDC estimates 42,000+ women and 500+ men are expected to succumb to the disease this year alone. With Ananda's passing, her legacy of charisma, intelligence and commitment to social issues should be remembered and reflected on. At a time before social media was commonplace—when only a few voices earned a platform to speak for a generation—she connected with music fans around the world, to both amplify artists' voices and spotlight critical social topics, through specials like True Life: I Am Driving While Black—all with an understanding of the power of media to drive change across the U.S. There are many reasons that her life deserves to be celebrated. Ananda Lewis joined the MTV Network in 1997. Known simply by her first name, which means 'bliss' in Sanskrit, America got a taste of her style, voice and vibes, and she quickly became a standout host on the uber-popular Total Request Live (TRL), MTV Live, Hot Zone and MTV Jams. In the prime of the network's cultural heyday, Ananda was able to connect with audiences while introducing the latest music videos, and conducting interviews with a seemingly never-ending list of celebrities. Her storytelling brought authenticity and depth to MTV's programming. Way before diversity was a department or a buzzword, she brought a unique multicultural look, original name and flawless style to an American youth seeking visual inspiration. In 2000, she was featured in People magazine's list of the world's '50 Most Beautiful People.' In 2001, she launched the Ananda Lewis Show, albeit with unfortunate timing, on the day before the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A few years later, she followed up that eponymous show as the chief correspondent for an Entertainment Tonight spin-off, The Insider. SANTA MONICA, CA - AUGUST 6: Singers Justin Timberlake, Chris Kirkpatrick and JC Chasez of NSYNC and ... More MTV VJ Ananda Lewis attend the Second Annual Teen Choice Awards on August 6, 2000 at the Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Air Center in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) Ananda was born in Los Angeles, California, and attended the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts before heading to the nation's capital to matriculate at Howard University. As an activist with the Youth Leadership and Development Institute, she worked with teenagers across customized learning programs designed to support at-risk youth. It was that passion which led her to audition for BET's Teen Summit, a groundbreaking series focused on social issues affecting young Black Americans. As the host of Teen Summit, Lewis got the opportunity to interview a wide range of special guests, from NBA legend Kobe Bryant to First Lady Hillary Clinton, hitting new angles of journalism that directly addressed and resonated with young viewers. Dave Chappelle and Ananda Lewis at the Los Angeles DVD Block Party to celebrate the June 13 release ... More of "Dave Chappelle's Block Party." Comedy superstar Dave Chappelle attended the Los Angeles DVD Block Party at the Best Buy in Culver City, California to celebrate the June 13 release of "Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Chappelle posed for pictures and signed autographs with the unsuspecting shoppers. An uncensored and unrated full-length movie about throwing the ultimate block party, "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" arrives on DVD June 13 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc for Universal Home Video) In 2020, Lewis first revealed she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, sharing the news in an Instagram video with the hope to encourage women to get a mammograms. Eventually, her cancer, progressed to stage 4, yet she reflected resilience and grace as she faced her illness, and her optimism shined through as she found moments of joy in the midst of adversity. As a Black female voice in media, Ananda Lewis's impact broke many invisible barriers. She challenged stereotypes and in many subtle ways paved the way for the generation that followed. With the outpouring of fans' reactions to the news of her passing, her life serves as a reminder of the importance early detection and self-care, but also the fragility of life. She is survived by her son, Langston, born in 2011. As we remember Ananda Lewis, let's honor her by continuing the work she championed—advocating for equity, amplifying underrepresented voices, and prioritizing pushing the envelope.
