Tyler Perry Leads Tributes to Late Atlanta News Anchor Jovita Moore: 'You Fought with All You Had'

Jovita Moore was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer just seven months before her death

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Published on October 30, 2021 11:16 AM

Jovita Moore attends during a private dinner on June 2, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. — Jovita Moore. Photo: Prince Williams/FilmMagic

Celebrities, politicians and Atlanta community members are honoring news anchor Jovita Moore after her death.

Moore died on Thursday evening, seven months she was diagnosed with an incurable and aggressive form of brain cancer. She was 53.

Leading the tributes to Moore was Tyler Perry, who shared a photograph of the late journalist alongside a warm message.

"We know you fought with all you had! I will miss your beautiful smile and warm laughter, let alone seeing you in my living room everyday. You will be missed greatly my friend," Perry, 52, wrote. "Many heartfelt prayers to your family. May your soul travel well! Life is but a moment."

In a statement shared across numerous posts on Twitter, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp said, "We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Jovita Moore. Over the past 6 months, she inspired us all with her strength, courage, and grace."

"Although she has left us here on earth, her legacy as a Georgia icon and world-class journalist will live on in the hearts of everyone who welcomed Jovita into their homes countless times to inform them about their community and keep them and their families safe. Her professionalism and dedication to her audience made Georgia a better place," their statement continued. "It has been a true honor and pleasure knowing and working with her. Our prayers go out to Jovita's family, including her co-workers at WSBTV and all who knew and loved her during this incredibly difficult time."

In his own statement, Senator Jon Ossoff wrote, "Jovita was a trailblazer, great journalist, and an Atlanta icon. Her years of service informing the public of current events and holding the powerful to account are deeply appreciated. I extend my heartfelt condolences to her friends, family, and colleagues at this difficult moment."

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Martin Luther King Jr.'s son, Martin Luther King III, noted in his own remembrance: "May God bless @jovitamoore as her battle with brain cancer comes to an end. For 20+ years, I have watched Jovita highlight issues impacting Atlantans & I have appreciated every interview that my family and I had with her. Sending love to her family, friends and @wsbtv colleagues."

Voting rights activist and former Georgia representative Stacey Abrams also shared her sadness after Moore's death. "Today, we mourn the passing of @jovitamoore, who used her voice and platform to highlight important issues impacting Atlantans for more than 20 years," Abrams, 47, tweeted. "May God bless her family, loved ones, and @wsbtv colleagues in their time of grief."

Elsewhere, a statement on behalf of the White House, which was shared with WSB-TV by senior advisor Cedric Richmond, read, "We offer our sincere condolences to you. Jovita was a titan in her industry. She showed so many young Black girls in the South and across the country that they could be anything that they wanted to be."

Doctors had discovered two tumors on Moore's brain earlier this year after she started noticing odd symptoms and nearly passed out at a grocery store. "I was concerned about why, all of a sudden, I was forgetful, and disoriented. Just not feeling myself, and feeling like I was in a fog," she said in April.

Moore was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer that can affect the brain or spinal cord. Though there was no cure for her, Moore underwent radiation and chemotherapy to slow down the cancer's progress.

Moore then "passed peacefully" as "she wanted with her family by her side," her co-anchor at WSB-TV, Justin Farmer, shared on Friday morning. She is survived by her children Shelby, Joshua and Lauren, and her mother Yvonne.

WSB-TV said that people can honor Moore's memory with donations to two organizations "that are very important to her" — Our House Atlanta and The National Brain Tumor Society.