CNN correspondents Sara Snider and Stephanie Elam appeared in a joint segment on CNN to discuss the June 11 death of former MTV star Ananda Lewis. Lewis was best known for being a “Veejay” on TRL (Total Request Live) and for hosting Teen Summit, per an ABC News tribute.
Shortly after Lewis died, Snider got on the air to say, “This is a story I didn’t wanna have to tell you,” before revealing the sad news. Elam then joined the conversation to describe her final visit with Ananda, which took place the day before she succumbed to cancer.
“I drove to be with her and held her hand, and I told her how much I love her,” Elam tearfully said. “Two thirds of my life, she has been my ride-or-die. We have been there, going through things, and we would text or message each other all the time,” the journalist reminisced.
Lewis’ death came before Elam had a chance to make another visit. “I was planning on getting off the air yesterday and going back to see her. After I got off the air, I looked down and I had a message from her beautiful sister, who has been such a strong champion for her,” she explained, before saying the message informed her that Lewis was gone.
Lewis’ sister, Lakshmi Emory, publicly <a href=”http://<iframe src=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Flakshmi.emory%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02gsEDvMGSqTk3HwykroFwEM2Y6e2rfKq15jLzgrc7ak9osQbVEeKC7urHE4GvRGK9l&show_text=true&width=500″ width=”500″ height=”627″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”true” allow=”autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share”>announced the news through a Facebook post.
Ananda Lewis’ Final Text Message to Friend Stephanie Elam
After recounting her last visit with the late 52-year-old, Elam described the details of the pair’s final text exchange. She also revealed the star’s death came much sooner than expected.
“When she had texted we thought we had weeks. And it turned out, that it turned into days. And then it was just a matter of hours,” she explained, before saying Lewis texted her because of how quickly things changed.
“She said that things had taken a turn. A different turn than things had liked,” said Elam. She then read a direct quote from Lewis’ message that said, “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.”
Lewis also declared her love for her “wonderful lifelong bestie of besties,” according to the on-air report.
Ananda Lewis’ Best Friend Said Host Was “At Peace” With Declining Surgery
Also during the televised segment, Elam said she wants everyone to know Lewis was “at peace with this decision,” referring to her choice not to undergo the double mastectomy which was recommended after her breast cancer diagnosis.
“She had come to grips with it,” said Elam.
Lewis told Snider and Elam in a 2024 CNN sit-down that she decided to “keep my tumor and try to work it out of my body another way.” The television personality pursued a variety of holistic treatments, some of which she described in an Essence feature, after her diagnosis in January 2019.
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