This Is Us writer Jas Waters has died aged 39.
The death of the writer and journalist, who worked on This Is Us and Kidding, was confirmed on Wednesday by the official This Is Us Twitter account.
No cause of death has been given.
A statement from the drama’s team read: ‘The entire This Is Us family was devastated to learn of Jas Waters’ passing. In our time together, Jas left her mark on us and ALL over the show. She was a brilliant storyteller and a force of nature.
‘We send our deepest sympathies to her loved ones. She was one of us. RIP @JasFly.’
Series creator Dan Fogelman added in his own statement: ‘Jas was absolutely brilliant and had so many stories still to tell. She made an indelible mark on our show and my heart breaks for her loved ones.’
Mandy Moore, who plays Rebecca Pearson on the show, tweeted: ‘Sending love and light to @JasFly’s family and loved ones’. while Niles Fitch, who plays a young Randall, wrote: ‘Rest in power Jas Waters.’
Waters also wrote for the Showtime series Kidding starring Jim Carrey, and the show creator Dave Holstein said in a statement: ‘Jas was a one of a kind voice and an integral part of our writing team on Kidding. This is a devastating loss for those who knew her and lived in her light.
‘One of my favourite lines of hers is resonating especially loud with me today: Our scars do not mean we are broken. They are proof we are healed.’
Jas’s agents, Rain Management, said on Twitter: ‘It is with extremely heavy hearts that all of us at RMG mourn the life of our client & friend, Jas Waters.
‘Jas was a talented & gifted writer, an amazing person, & a sweet soul who will be forever missed. Though she is no longer with us, her impact will be felt for years to come.’
Glee star Amber Riley joined in on the tributes on social media, tweeting: ‘I can’t believe I woke up to hearing you are gone @JasFly.
‘You inspired me so much and challenged my thinking also. I truly admired you as a writer and just as a black woman. We never got to work together like we wanted, but I’m so glad to have known you. #RIPJasFly.’
Insecure star and co-creator Issa Rae wrote: ‘I‘ll never forget being so excited to get an interview w/@JasFly for Necole Bitchie back when I was working on ABG. I could feel her warmth through the phone.
‘Over the years, I got to know & appreciate her even more. She was so generous, beautiful and REAL. I’ll miss you, girl.’
And director Matthew A Cherry tweeted: ‘Damn man. @JasFly was good people. Rest In Peace to a real one.’
As well as writing for TV, Jas held a story credit on the 2019 film What Men Want starring Taraji P Henson.
Before breaking into screenwriting, she ran her own entertainment website and wrote a column for Vibe magazine, and in 2013, she starred on the VH1 reality show The Gossip Game, following a group of bloggers and media personalities in New York.
In 2018, Jas told Shadow and Act: ‘I’m very audacious. This was always the plan for my life, even before I knew it.
‘A billion things had to conspire together for me to get here. Listen, I was raised in an old folks’ home. I never had a traditional life; I never had a safe, cookie-cutter, predictable, affirming life.
‘From the moment I got here, the rules didn’t apply to me. If the basic rules of raising a kid didn’t apply to me, then nothing else really applies to me. So I just had to figure it out. There were several times in my life that I found to be very confining. But as I look back on it, it was very freeing.’
She also revealed that she took a lot of inspiration for This Is Us from her real life, having learned later in life that she was adopted (for Randall’s story), having lost 111 pounds (Kate’s story), and having been on TV (Kevin).
Jas last tweeted on 8 May, when she shared a number of recipes she cooked to help with her anxiety, followed by a tweet reading: ‘Some s*** just changes you.’
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