In 1998 , Lewis made headlines while at MTV when she announced , that she intended to remain abstinent for at least six months . She states : I made the decision for selfish reasons , but I 'm going public here because I realized I might be able to help other girls , too . I know the kind of drama that being sexually active brings to your life . I felt that if it was good for me to take a break , it might be good for other young girls , too . You see , I think I would be a whole different person if I had n't had sex so early . Everybody was saying , " Do it ! " but nobody ever said , " You do n't have to do it " . I think hearing that would have made a huge difference in my life . Also during that period Lewis became a familiar presence at celebrity-attended events in and around New York City . " If you do n't recognize the name Ananda Lewis , it may be because you 're older than 23 , or not a hip-hop star , or not a regular supplicant in the land of the velvet ropes , " Century wrote at the height of Lewis 's fame . " In the last year , Ms. Lewis has emerged as the hip-hop generation 's reigning ' It Girl , ' meaning she is not just an MTV personality but a woman whose looks and attitudes have made her perpetually in demand . " In 2000 '' People '' included Lewis on its list of the world 's " 50 Most Beautiful People . " In 2001 , Lewis decided to leave MTV in order to start her own talk show . '' The Ananda Lewis Show '' debuted on September 10 , 2001 , after much advance press in which Lewis was compared to Oprah Winfrey , the wildly popular talk-show host long considered to be one of the most powerful women of African American descent in television . Lewis continued to do special presentations for MTV after her show had begun . Lewis 's series , which was syndicated by King World Productions , targeted women between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four by addressing such issues as domestic violence and breast cancer ; it was billed as an alternative to the sensationalism and provocative offerings of Jerry Springer and Ricki Lake , whose talk shows were then dominating daytime ratings . Lewis 's show aired on some WB and NBC stations before being canceled after one season . Her show 's producers stated : " We started on a Monday and then there was the World Trade Center bombing the next day , and everything has become a mess since then , " Roger King , the chairman and CEO of King World Productions and CBS Enterprises . Lewis then worked briefly for BET
World Trade Center bombing
September 11 attacks
Ananda Lewis