Ananda Lewis, former MTV VJ, dies at 52 after long battle with breast cancer

Ananda Lewis, former MTV VJ and talk show host, died at the age of 52 after a long battle with breast cancer. Lewis’ sister, Lakshmi, announced the devastating news in a short Facebook post shared on Wednesday, June 11.

“She’s free, and in His heavenly arms,” she wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of Lewis. “Lord, rest her soul.”

Tributes poured in from the industry as American writer, activist, and filmmaker, Kevin Powell in a post on X stated, “ANANDA LEWIS, my sister, friend, fellow MTV alumni, rest peacefully. You were brilliant and beautiful in all ways. Loved getting your text messages, messages of wisdom and support.”

In a heartfelt tribute, MTV in a post on X stated, “We’re saddened to learn of the passing of beloved MTV VJ, Ananda Lewis. Through her on-air hosting and interviews, Ananda helped raise a generation of music fans. Our thoughts are with her family & loved ones.”

Ananda Lewis' cancer history

Her cancer diagnosis became public for the first time in 2020, when she revealed that she was being treated for stage III breast cancer through a social media post on Instagram. Fear of radiation had discouraged her from getting regular mammograms, as revealed in a 2020 Instagram post.

“In January 2019, I found a breast specialist and went in for a biopsy. The doctor called me the next day and told me the material came back as positive for invasive carcinoma. It was ER/PR positive, HER2 negative breast cancer, stage 3,” essence.com quoted the TV host as saying in January this year.

Ananda Lewis participated in a roundtable discussion with CNN’s Stephanie Elam (her friendfrom college) and CNN anchor Sara Sidner in October last year. During this discussion she revealed that she brushed aside medical advice and refused to have a double mastectomy after cancer diagnosis, People reported. This resulted in the cancer progressing to stage IV after her tumour metastasized.

Ananda Lewis career

The breakthrough in Ananda Lewis' career came in 1997 when she was hired to be one of MTV’s VJs and hosted several shows like Total Request Live and Hot Zone. To host her own talk show - The Ananda Lewis Show, she left MTV in 2001. The New York Times labelled her “the hip-hop generation's reigning It Girl.”