Late MTV Legend’s Dying Wish Revealed: Ananda Lewis’ Sister Speaks Out

Famed MTV and BET journalist Ananda Lewis’ family are grateful for the outpouring of support. Lewis died after a battle with breast cancer at the age of 52.

Her sister, Lakshmi Emory, announced her death in a Facebook post. “She’s free, and in His heavenly arms,” Emory wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of her late sister in the post. 

“Lord, rest her soul,” she added. “She was my stubborn little sister who shone brightly, loved fiercely and was my number one cheerleader,” Emery added in a second Facebook post. “Hard/headed and tender-hearted…smart as a whip…we finished each other’s sentences.”

Emory recently spoke with Entertainment Tonight, revealing what her final wish was before her transition. “Her wish was to live to his graduation day,” Emory told the outlet of Lewis’ 14-year-old son, Langston, as reported by The New York Post. “And she did exactly that.”

Lewis died on Wednesday, June 11. Her son, who she shared with Will Smith’s brother, Harry Smith, graduated from middle school later that same day, seemingly in his mother’s honor.

Lewis’ longtime best friend, CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam, recently revealed the final text she received from Lewis in which they discussed her holistic approach to treating her cancer. 

“She texted me and said things had taken a different turn than she would have liked,” Elam revealed. “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.’”She added: “And then she goes on to say, ‘I love you my wonderful lifelong bestie of besties.’”

Elam explained that Lewis’ death happened quickly. Initially, they thought they had months, then weeks, then days, then mere hours. Lewis died at her home in hospice care.

Lewis expressed her regret for not undergoing a double mastectomy as doctors recommended. Her cancer ended up spreading from her choice to go the holistic route. Lewis’ decision was marred with complicated reactions from the public, and even her close friends and family.

“If I had known what I know now 10 years ago, perhaps I wouldn’t have ended up here,” she wrote for ESSENCE in January. “I would have been cold plunging, exercising consistently, making sure my vitamin D levels were good, detoxing my body on a monthly and yearly basis, and sleeping better. I would’ve been doing all the things I’ve been forced to do now, to keep my body from creating more cancer and remove what it has already made.”

In lieu of flowers, her family has asked that supporters make donations to her son’s education fund. They also asked that they donate to a charity.