Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis final text message…
Stephanie Elam is sharing insight into her friendship with the late Ananda Lewis.
The former MTV VJ and discuss show host died at age 52 following a prolonged battle with breast cancer. On Friday, the CNN correspondent, 51, spoke candidly about Lewis while on air with fellow CNN anchor Sara Sidner, 53.
In October 2024, the trio sat down to talk about both Sidner’s breast cancer diagnosis and Lewis’ with the correspondent present process conventional therapy while the previous tv persona opted for a more holistic strategy.
Stephanie Elam talks about Ananda Lewis reside on CNN.
CNN
“One thing I want everyone to know is that she was at peace with this decision,” Elam stated of Lewis’ selection in therapy. “She had come to grips with it.”
Elam added she visited Lewis the day before she handed, noting her situation declined quickly.
“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,” the journalist revealed. “It happened very quickly how things changed.”
Stephanie Elam and Sara Sidner on CNN. CNN
Elam then grew to become emotional while studying Lewis’ final text message to her.
“She texted me and said things had taken a different turn than she would have liked,” Elam defined. “This is part of the text she sent me: ‘You know my feelings on this. We all go. These bodies are on loan and must be returned. We come in love and choose to leave it with love as well.’ And then she goes on to say, ‘I love you my wonderful lifelong bestie of besties.’”
Elam added that Lewis was “my ride or die.”
Ananda Lewis and Stephanie Elam. stephelamtv/Instagram
“I love my girl, but she was hard-headed,” Elam admitted. “She wanted to do it her own way despite the fact that so many of us close to her wanted her to try the way that [Sidner] did it. But this is what she wanted to do and she was totally at peace with it.”
On Instagram, the TV host penned an emotional tribute to her longtime pal.
“She was good energy and joy. She was fiercely loyal and deeply loving. She was an awesome mother, a dedicated auntie to my daughter, a giving human and she was my best friend for two-thirds of our lives,” Elam started alongside a montage of footage of the 2 all through the years.
Stephanie Elam shares a throwback pics of herself with Ananda Lewis. stephelamtv/Instagram
“We met at the very beginning of freshman year at our beloved @howard1867 Howard University,” she continued. “She was 18 and I was 17. Our bond was quick and easy. Two young women from California beginning four years together in Washington DC. We were so tight, we celebrated our graduation together at an Indian restaurant with both of our families.”
Looking back at their bond over the years, Elam added, “We were there for each other in the big moments and the quiet everyday ones – the no makeup mommying days and our annual “framily” traditions with our children – which we never missed.”
“I was so proud of her when she agreed last fall to disclose more about her breast cancer path in conversation with me and @sarasidnertv,” she went on. “I truly believe they saved lives by being so open.”
Stephanie Elam poses with Ananda Lewis. stephelamtv/Instagram
“If only we knew that would be our last time on camera together – or that last summer would see our last beach day, or last autumn our final trip to the fall festival, our last solo convo this spring. But last night I got to hold her hand and tell her how much I love her. Please know she was at peace with her passing.”
She concluded: “I’m so glad she’s no longer in pain but I’m not quite sure how to life this life without her.”
Lewis’ sister, Lakshmi, first revealed the devastating information in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
Ananda Lewis. Paul Redmond
Stephanie Elam and Ananda Lewis.
. stephelamtv/Instagram
“She’s free, and in His heavenly arms,” Lakshmi wrote beneath a black-and-white image of Lewis. “Lord, rest her soul.”
The MTV alum shared her Stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis in an Instagram post in October 2020.
“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,” Lewis captioned the video, which defined she was identified with breast cancer two years prior.
In her October 2024 dialog with Elam and Sider, she stated, “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. I decided to keep my tumor and try to work it out of my body a different way. I wish I could go back.”
Ananda Lewis poses on the crimson carpet. WireImage for BET Network
Ananda Lewis during Frida Kahlo Tequila Launch in 2005. WireImage
In an problem of Essence printed earlier this yr, Lewis said that “prevention is the real cure.”
Lewis is survived by her son, Langston, 14, whom she shares with Will Smith’s youthful brother, Harry Smith.
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