Busta Rhymes took the stage at the MTV VMAs on Sunday to accept the inaugural Rock the Bells Visionary Award and memorialized Ananda Lewis— despite the awards ceremony surprisingly paying the late TV legend they employed, dust.
During his acceptance speech, the rapper, 53, took the time to honor the late MTV VJ who died of breast cancer in June.
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“Y’all know I usually do these long speeches, I’m not gonna do one today. But next time y’all take 35 years to give me one of these, y’all gonna let me talk as long as I want!” he began his speech, emphasizing that this is his first time ever receiving a VMA.
The hip-hop legend went on to thank all of the important people in his life, including his parents and children, before paying tribute to Lewis, who died at age 52.
“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,” Busta said. “I love her very much. I miss her very much. The late, great, incredible royal empress Ananda Lewis. I want to big up her mother, her father, her sister Lakshmi.”
The rapper concluded, “The blessings don’t stop, so we don’t stop, baby.”
Lewis first joined MTV in 1997, hosting both Total Request Live and Hot Zone during her time at MTV. She left the music channel in 2010 to host her own show, The Ananda Lewis Show. She announced her cancer diagnosis in 2020, and four years later, she revealed that the cancer had metastasized and was stage IV before passing away earlier this year.
While fans were happy to see Busta Rhymes give Lewis her flowers, his mention of the late it girl made many viewers all the more upset that the show didn’t give her a whole tribute. Having contributed to much of MTV’s golden age, the fact that the awards show didn’t mention Lewis at all was disappointing, which many fans pointed out on social media.
R.I.P., Ananda Lewis.
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