Latest news with #TeenSummit
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
CNN reporter holds back tears recalling final moments before death of MTV VJ Ananda Lewis
CNN reporter holds back tears recalling final moments before death of MTV VJ Ananda Lewis Show Caption Hide Caption Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles, reveals she had breast cancer Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles, has revealed that she privately battled breast cancer. She opened up about her 2024 diagnosis. unbranded - Entertainment A pair of CNN stars are remembering MTV video jockey Ananda Lewis, who died earlier this week from breast cancer. Holding back tears, CNN anchor Sara Sidner told viewers this is "a story I didn't want to have to tell you" before she was later joined by their mutual friend and network correspondent Stephanie Elam, who visited the former "Teen Summit" star the day before she died on June 11. Elam said she drove from an overnight shift, after covering the Los Angeles protests, to hold the hand of her "ride or die" Lewis. The next day, Elam said she planned to return to visit Lewis again. CNN anchor Sara Sidner tearfully reveals breast cancer diagnosis: 'Hard to say out loud' "After I got off the air, I looked down and had a message from her beautiful big sister who has been such a strong champion for her and has kept me abreast of everything and messaged me and told me that she passed away right before I finished that last hit," Elam said. "And, so it was too late. "One thing that I want everyone to know is that she was at peace with this decision," Elam said of Lewis. "She had come to grips with it." The Los Angeles-based reporter for CNN said her friend's condition changed quicker than expected, explaining that "we thought we had weeks, and it turned out that it turned into days and then it was actually just a matter of hours." Elam said she and Lewis met before their freshman year at Howard University, a premier historically Black university in Washington, D.C. Lewis was one of the first big video jockeys on MTV. She was a groundbreaking face on the network after she first started her career by hosting "Teen Summit" on BET after graduating from Howard. In 1997, she joined MTV where she hosted "Total Request Live" and "Hot Zone." After leaving MTV in 2001, she hosted her own short-lived syndicated talk show, "The Ananda Lewis Show." Sara Sidner revealed her own stage 3 cancer diagnosis live on CNN Last year, Sidner revealed that she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, telling viewers on-air on CNN she was in her second month of chemotherapy treatments and would receive radiation and a double mastectomy. "I have never been sick a day of my life," Sidner told viewers. "I don't smoke. I rarely drink. Breast cancer does not run in my family. And yet here I am, with stage 3 breast cancer. It is hard to say out loud." In October, Sidner and Lewis sat down with Elam to talk about their respective cancer journeys where the latter took a more holistic route. During the talk, Lewis discussed her outlook on the diagnosis, which she decided to treat more naturally. "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 on CNN. "And those changes have allowed me access to more of my joy, more of the time."
Fox News
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis dead at 52 after breast cancer battle
Ananda Lewis, the former MTV VJ and talk show host, has died after a six-year battle with breast cancer. She was 52. The Associated Press reported Lewis' death, citing her sister's Facebook announcement shared June 11. "She's free, and in His heavenly arms. Lord, rest her soul," Ananda's sister, Lakshmi Emory, wrote. Lewis' career began as a host on BET's "Teen Summit." She interviewed big names like Kobe Bryant, Tupac Shakur and the first lady at the time, Hillary Clinton, which later earned her an NAACP Image Award, according to The Associated Press. In 1997, Lewis shot to fame after she was hired as one of MTV's VJs, hosting "Hot Zone" and "Total Request Live." Lewis left MTV in 2001 and became the host of her own talk show, "The Ananda Lewis Show," which aired for one season. "She's free, and in His heavenly arms. Lord, rest her soul." Lewis told the AP in 2001 she faced backlash after leaving BET for MTV. "I wouldn't say in a strong way because I think most people who were in my fan base at 'Teen Summit' understand that growth is necessary. One of the main things we dealt with on a consistent basis, like the underlying theme of all the shows, is you've got to get out there and live your life," she said. "The bottom line is this is about you. So, how do you want to grow and whom do you want to develop into? My justification is that I say to kids, 'Be your best and take advantage of every opportunity.' So, I couldn't sit in a place of not taking advantage of an opportunity," she told the outlet at the time. In 2020, Lewis took to Instagram to share that she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. It advanced to Stage 4 last year. "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. PRACTICE EARLY DETECTION. Share this with a woman you love. These 6 minutes could help save her life. I love you guys," Lewis captioned her video at the time. In her video, she noted that she was not getting routine mammograms due to her fear of radiation. Lewis later said doctors recommended a double mastectomy, but she opted for alternative methods. She eventually realized that was the wrong measure, becoming an advocate for being up to date with mammogram checkups. Lewis penned an essay for Essence in January and emphasized that "prevention is the real cure" when it comes to breast cancer. "We're not meant to stay here forever. We come to this life, have experiences — and then we go. "Being real about that with yourself changes how you choose to live. I don't want to spend one more minute than I have to suffering unnecessarily. That, for me, is not the quality of life I'm interested in. When it's time for me to go, I want to be able to look back on my life and say, 'I did that exactly how I wanted to,'" Lewis wrote. After walking away from her talk show, Lewis made appearances as a host on "The Insider," TLC's "While You Were Out," and A&E's "America's Top Dog."
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ananda Lewis, former MTV and BET host who publicly shared breast cancer journey, dies
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ananda Lewis, the former MTV and BET host who became a beloved television personality in the 1990s with her warmth and authenticity, has died. She was 52. Her sister, Lakshmi Emory, confirmed Lewis' death in a Facebook post Wednesday. Lewis had been battling breast cancer. 'She's free, and in His heavenly arms,' Emory wrote. 'Lord, rest her soul.' Lewis, a San Diego native, made a name for herself as a host on BET's 'Teen Summit,' which tackled issues facing Black youth and featured community leaders, entertainers and politicians. She landed big interviews with Kobe Bryant, Tupac Shakur and Louis Farrakhan and then-first lady Hillary Clinton, which earned her an NAACP Image Award. After a few seasons, Lewis took her talents over to MTV in 1997. She was a host and veejay on 'MTV Live.' 'Hot Zone' and 'Total Request Live,' a daily top 10 video countdown show. Lewis told The Associated Press that she felt some backlash after moving from BET to MTV. 'I wouldn't say in a strong way because I think most people who were in my fan base at 'Teen Summit' understand that growth is necessary,' she said. 'One of the main things we dealt with on a consistent basis, like the underlying theme of all the shows is you've got to get out there and live your life. The bottom line is this is about you, so how do you want to grow and whom do you want to develop into? My justification is that I say to kids: 'be your best and take advantage of every opportunity,' so I couldn't sit in a place of not taking advantage of an opportunity.' In 2001, Lewis told the AP that she wasn't trying to reinvent daytime talk with her new syndicated series, 'The Ananda Lewis Show.' 'There's only so much different you can do in daytime, which is what I'm learning. There's a certain way, I guess, people are used to doing things and that way's not going to change for a while,' she said. 'I think there's a formula, and some cases have proven that formula works. So the objective isn't to reinvent the wheel but to make it spin a little more smoothly.' Lewis' show lasted only one season. But a few years later, she became a correspondent for 'The Insider,' a spinoff of 'Entertainment Tonight.' Lewis was open about her cancer journey since she publicly shared her diagnosis in 2020. At that time, the disease was initially stage 3 before it advanced to stage 4 last year. She had been living with breast cancer for six years. Lewis said doctors recommended a double mastectomy, but she opted for alternative methods. She eventually realized that was the wrong measure, becoming an advocate for being up-to-date with mammogram checkups. 'I need you to share this with the women in your life who may be as stubborn as I was about mammograms, and I need you to tell them that they have to do it,' Lewis said in her announcement. 'Early detection, especially for breast cancer, changes your outcome. It can save their life.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ananda Lewis, former MTV and BET host who publicly shared breast cancer journey, dies
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ananda Lewis, the former MTV and BET host who became a beloved television personality in the 1990s with her warmth and authenticity, has died. She was 52. Her sister, Lakshmi Emory, confirmed Lewis' death in a Facebook post Wednesday. Lewis had been battling breast cancer. 'She's free, and in His heavenly arms,' Emory wrote. 'Lord, rest her soul.' Lewis, a San Diego native, made a name for herself as a host on BET's 'Teen Summit,' which tackled issues facing Black youth and featured community leaders, entertainers and politicians. She landed big interviews with Kobe Bryant, Tupac Shakur and Louis Farrakhan and then-first lady Hillary Clinton, which earned her an NAACP Image Award. After a few seasons, Lewis took her talents over to MTV in 1997. She was a host and veejay on 'MTV Live.' 'Hot Zone' and 'Total Request Live," a daily top 10 video countdown show. Lewis told The Associated Press that she felt some backlash after moving from BET to MTV. 'I wouldn't say in a strong way because I think most people who were in my fan base at 'Teen Summit' understand that growth is necessary,' she said. 'One of the main things we dealt with on a consistent basis, like the underlying theme of all the shows is you've got to get out there and live your life. The bottom line is this is about you, so how do you want to grow and whom do you want to develop into? My justification is that I say to kids: 'be your best and take advantage of every opportunity,' so I couldn't sit in a place of not taking advantage of an opportunity." In 2001, Lewis told the AP that she wasn't trying to reinvent daytime talk with her new syndicated series, 'The Ananda Lewis Show.' 'There's only so much different you can do in daytime, which is what I'm learning. There's a certain way, I guess, people are used to doing things and that way's not going to change for a while,' she said. 'I think there's a formula, and some cases have proven that formula works. So the objective isn't to reinvent the wheel but to make it spin a little more smoothly.' Lewis' show lasted only one season. But a few years later, she became a correspondent for 'The Insider,' a spinoff of "Entertainment Tonight." Lewis was open about her cancer journey since she publicly shared her diagnosis in 2020. At that time, the disease was initially stage 3 before it advanced to stage 4 last year. She had been living with breast cancer for six years. Lewis said doctors recommended a double mastectomy, but she opted for alternative methods. She eventually realized that was the wrong measure, becoming an advocate for being up-to-date with mammogram checkups. 'I need you to share this with the women in your life who may be as stubborn as I was about mammograms, and I need you to tell them that they have to do it,' Lewis said in her announcement. 'Early detection, especially for breast cancer, changes your outcome. It can save their life.'
The Independent
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Ananda Lewis, former MTV and BET host who publicly shared breast cancer journey, dies
Ananda Lewis, the former MTV and BET host who became a beloved television personality in the 1990s with her warmth and authenticity, has died. She was 52. Her sister, Lakshmi Emory, confirmed Lewis' death in a Facebook post Wednesday. Lewis had been battling breast cancer. 'She's free, and in His heavenly arms,' Emory wrote. ' Lord, rest her soul.' Lewis, a San Diego native, made a name for herself as a host on BET's 'Teen Summit,' which tackled issues facing Black youth and featured community leaders, entertainers and politicians. She landed big interviews with Kobe Bryant, Tupac Shakur and Louis Farrakhan and then-first lady Hillary Clinton, which earned her an NAACP Image Award. After a few seasons, Lewis took her talents over to MTV in 1997. She was a host and veejay on 'MTV Live.' 'Hot Zone' and 'Total Request Live," a daily top 10 video countdown show. Lewis told The Associated Press that she felt some backlash after moving from BET to MTV. 'I wouldn't say in a strong way because I think most people who were in my fan base at 'Teen Summit' understand that growth is necessary,' she said. ' One of the main things we dealt with on a consistent basis, like the underlying theme of all the shows is you've got to get out there and live your life. The bottom line is this is about you, so how do you want to grow and whom do you want to develop into? My justification is that I say to kids: 'be your best and take advantage of every opportunity,' so I couldn't sit in a place of not taking advantage of an opportunity." In 2001, Lewis told the AP that she wasn't trying to reinvent daytime talk with her new syndicated series, 'The Ananda Lewis Show.' 'There's only so much different you can do in daytime, which is what I'm learning. There's a certain way, I guess, people are used to doing things and that way's not going to change for a while,' she said. 'I think there's a formula, and some cases have proven that formula works. So the objective isn't to reinvent the wheel but to make it spin a little more smoothly.' Lewis' show lasted only one season. But a few years later, she became a correspondent for 'The Insider,' a spinoff of "Entertainment Tonight." Lewis was open about her cancer journey since she publicly shared her diagnosis in 2020. At that time, the disease was initially stage 3 before it advanced to stage 4 last year. She had been living with breast cancer for six years. Lewis said doctors recommended a double mastectomy, but she opted for alternative methods. She eventually realized that was the wrong measure, becoming an advocate for being up-to-date with mammogram checkups. 'I need you to share this with the women in your life who may be as stubborn as I was about mammograms, and I need you to tell them that they have to do it,' Lewis said in her announcement. 'Early detection, especially for breast cancer, changes your outcome. It can save their life.'
