What happened to Ananda Lewis? Busta Rhymes honors late MTV VJ at VMA

American rapper and record producer Busta Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor George Smith Jr., recently honored late MTV VJ Ananda Lewis.

On Sunday, September 7, the rapper received the first-ever MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award. During his speech, he thanked his mother, his late father, and Ananda Lewis, who died in June from breast cancer.

"I want to thank — and I think we all need to acknowledge — the incredible woman that loved us very much when we came to MTV during the '90s. An incredible woman that loved me and she loved us. She loved the culture; she lifted us up. I love her very much. I miss her very much. The late, great, incredible royal empress Ananda Lewis. I want to pick up her mother, her father, her sister Lakshmi. The blessings don't stop, so we don't stop, baby," the rapper stated.

Busta Rhymes pays respects to the late Ananda Lewis at the #VMAs pic.twitter.com/LcVim9Z8aQ

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 8, 2025

Ananda joined MTV in August 1997, after working as a host for BET's Teen Summit. After working for the network for around three years, she launched the Ananda Lewis Show.

Meanwhile, Lewis shared the news of her breast cancer diagnosis in an Instagram video on October 2, 2020, at the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In the clip, she shared that she had been diagnosed with stage III breast cancer, and had been "fighting to get cancer out of my body for almost 2 years."

She also explained that she refused mammograms for years due to a fear of radiation.

"I watched my mom get mammogrammed for 30 years almost. And at the end of that, she had breast cancer. And I said, "Huh, radiation exposure for years? Breast cancer? Yeah, I'm going to pass. Thanks anyway." I am stubborn. I'm going to admit that up front. Those of you who know me know that's true, and I stand by that thinking. I stand by the research that shows that an accumulation of radiation in your body can cause cancer," Ananda said.

In October 2024, Ananda Lewis revealed that her breast cancer had metastasized and progressed to stage IV. Subsequently, on June 11, the former MTV VJ's sister, Lakshmi, announced her passing in a Facebook post.

"She’s free, and in His heavenly arms. Lord, rest her soul," she captioned the post.

Social media users also expressed their condolences in the comment section of the post.

"Oh no! I am so sorry for your loss," one user wrote.

"I'm so sorry for your loss. You have my sincerest condolences. God Bless you and your family," another user commented.

"I’m so sorry for your loss. Praying for you and your beloved family," another user stated.

Amanda Lewis chose not to undergo a double mastectomy

In a roundtable discussion with CNN’s Stephanie Elam and CNN anchor Sara Sidner in October 2024, Ananda Lewis revealed that she "decided to keep my tumor and try to work it out of my body a different way."

"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. It’s important for me to admit where I went wrong with this."

However, her cancer had progressed to stage four.

My lymph system really flared up. It was the first time I ever had a conversation with death because I felt like: This is how it is. I was just like, 'Fudge man, I really thought I had this.' I was frustrated, I was a little angry at myself, and I said, 'Man, listen. I know you’re coming for me at some point. But I don’t want it to be now. And if you could just wait, I promise when you do come, I'm gonna make it fun for you.'"

Born on March 21, 1973, Amanda Lewis is survived by her son, Langston, whom he welcomed in 2011 with actor Will Smith's brother, Harry Smith.