Newsom Played God. Ananda Lewis Paid the Price

She fought cancer. California’s lockdowns fought her access to care.

I had the breast surgeon do monthly ultrasounds, to keep an eye on the tumor. I did high-dose vitamin C IVs, followed by hyperbaric chamber sessions, qigong exercise, energy work, prayer and diet changes, all while managing the major stress of ending a 10-year relationship with the man I loved—my son’s father. In January 2020, my ultrasounds found that everything was still growing slowly. I felt I was doing well, and my doctors agreed. And then COVID hit. That’s what changed everything for me.

I could no longer get my treatments or the ultrasounds, because everything closed in California in March. By the summer of 2020, I felt the tumor growing again, as I wasn’t able to do anything to stop it. I called my Plan B surgeon and told him, “I need to look at all my options again. What does surgery look like now? What would I have to do?” He told me they weren’t even scheduling those surgeries at the time—only emergency surgeries. But I had to do something. So I started looking outside of California and discovered that in Arizona, everything was still available.

The integrative facility that I found had everything I wanted—and many things I hadn’t even heard of but that made sense to me. In August of 2020, I packed up my truck, drove 419 miles away to Arizona and started 16 weeks of treatment. I was heartbroken to leave my son. I had never been without him, not even for a weekend. But I was in warrior mode, determined to get my health back for the both of us.

From: Ananda Lewis On Living With Stage 4 Breast Cancer And Her Message For Black Women — 'Prevention Is The Real Cure' January 24, 2025

Ananda Lewis, Former MTV VJ and Talk Show Host, Dies at 52

California has always been a mess, but under Gavin Newsom, it became something worse, an unlivable experiment in authoritarian control wrapped in smug, progressive packaging. The COVID lockdowns weren’t just inconvenient or excessive. They were cruel.

People love to talk about “the science” when they defend what happened. But what kind of science abandons cancer patients mid-treatment? What kind of leadership shuts down lifesaving procedures because it might not “look good politically”?

Ananda Lewis, a TV host, mother and fighter of cancer, had to leave her state just to get the care she needed. Not because she couldn’t afford it. Not because she didn’t have support. But because the government told her she couldn’t.

And she’s not some anomaly. She’s a symbol. A reminder that when arrogant politicians like Newsom play god with blanket mandates, it’s regular people who suffer, while they deliver smug press conferences from luxury restaurants, wine glass in hand.

I’ve seen countless commentaries about how devastating it is for women to leave states with restrictive abortion laws. It’s always framed as a heartbreaking injustice to be forced out just to end a pregnancy. And yes, that is painful and difficult. But why don’t we hear the same outrage when someone has to pack up and leave their state to try to save their own life? Shouldn’t it be just as infuriating, maybe even more so, that a woman like Ananda Lewis had to escape California just to get cancer treatment the state shut down in the name of public safety? Where’s the empathy and anger for that?

I’ve had contempt for what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic from the start, but it’s only grown as the years have passed. The ripple effects are still everywhere: delayed diagnoses, mental health crises, destroyed small businesses, and kids who lost years of education and social development. But now the panic has faded, the urgency’s gone, and we’re supposed to act like nothing happened?

Suddenly, COVID got lumped in with the flu, the daily dashboards vanished, and we were told to just “move on.” No reckoning. No accountability. Just a tidy little rebrand: respiratory illness. As if the chaos, censorship, economic destruction, and human cost can be swept under a new label.

So no, I don’t see Gavin Newsom or Andrew Cuomo (another clown who held his state in lockdown for way too long) as heroes. I see them for what they are: power-drunk opportunists who locked down entire populations, crushed dissent, and left people like Ananda to rot. At the same time, they are now making TV appearances saying they are “fighting Trump,” running for mayor of NYC and flirting with national office.

What happened during COVID-19 wasn’t just a mistake. It was a catastrophe. A moral failure. And anyone who’s still pretending otherwise is either delusional or complicit.

Ananda Lewis didn’t just leave California. She escaped it. And I don’t blame her. What a terribly run state. In my opinion, when your government becomes your greatest obstacle to staying alive, fleeing isn’t dramatic, it’s just common sense.

Unfortunately, the early denial of treatment she faced may have cost her everything. Ananda Lewis died just a few days ago. It’s sad. It’s tragic. No, I don’t place all the blame on Gavin Newsom personally. But we can’t ignore that the way certain states behaved during the pandemic, California chief among them, did cost lives. And if we’re too cowardly or comfortable to admit that now, then we’ve learned nothing.

Deep Cuts is where I think out loud about the intersections of culture, history, music, politics, and power. If this made you think, whether you agree or not, share it, forward it, or subscribe for more.

I’m Clayton Craddock—a father, business owner, musician, and truth-seeker who believes in asking hard questions and thinking independently. I share my thoughts on ‘Deep Cuts’ to challenge the status quo and dig beneath the surface.

If you would like to connect, please get in touch with me at Clayton@claytoncraddock.com