Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of The Roots is mourning the loss of a friend who played a key role in helping his career reach “that level.”
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Ananda Lewis, a former MTV VJ and broadcaster who openly shared her breast cancer journey, passed away last week at 52.
Upon hearing the news of her death, Questlove took to Instagram to pay tribute to Lewis.
“I’m sorry I never got to say goodbye to her and to thank her for all the times she advocated for us when we were hitting brick walls getting to “that level” when Things Fall Apart came out,” Questlove wrote alongside a photo of Lewis. “She pulled some sort of miracle for us. The kindest soul ever.”
“Thank you so much, Ananda Lewis. Rest Easy. & Thank You So Much,” he concluded.
Questlove’s Fans Join Him in Mourning the Loss of Ananda Lewis
Many of Questlove’s fans joined him in the comments section of his post to mourn Lewis.
“My heart just dropped. It’s already been a tough week. I didn’t expect this,” one fan wrote.
“She good ppl. Can’t believe it. She was a mentor for our Youth Leadership program in DC. Always kind. Always love. Damn man. I thought she was going to beat that s—,” a another fan added.
“She is a part of my childhood memories. Rest well, Ananda,” a third mourner wrote.
“This was the ‘cool girl’ I wanted to be growing up. Her friendship with Aaliyah solidified it. I hope they’re reunited now,” yet another fan added.
Ananda Lewis revealed her cancer diagnosis in 2020. She had avoided annual mammograms because she was worried about radiation exposure.
Months before her death, Lewis revealed that her cancer had continued to spread. Despite her doctors’ recommendation for a double mastectomy, she chose to keep her tumor instead.
In Questlove’s comments, some hoped Lewis’s example would lead more people living with breast cancer to follow doctors’ orders.
“I had a unilateral mastectomy and 4 rounds of chemo. I would be dead if I didn’t have that mammogram and the surgery. It’s so tragic that she chose that route,” one Instagram user wrote.