September 05, 2017
Actress, journalist and TV personality Maria Menounos is crediting a few wise words from Sylvester Stallone as helping her through a recent brain tumor diagnosis.
Menounos, who left her post as co-anchor of "E! News" back in July after undergoing surgery to remove the tumor, told TMZ in an interview published Tuesday that she used an inspirational monologue from Stallone's portrayal as Rocky Balboa in the self-titled 2006 movie as a bit of motivation.
"He was very inspiring to both of us," Menounos said to TMZ of her and her fiance, Keven Undergaro, creator of AfterBuzz TV. "'It ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.' That's how winning's done, so no matter what hits you in life, you gotta get up and you gotta find the positive and find the blessing in it. Even in the bleakest of things, there are blessings, and surround yourself with amazing people that will lift you up."
Menounos is referencing a touching monologue Balboa delivers to his son, Robert Balboa, in the film, telling him that "the world ain't all sunshine and rainbows."
The TV host told TMZ that she is now cancer-free. A July cover story in People magazine first revealed that she had "a golf-ball-size meningioma brain tumor" and was diagnosed while her mother was fighting stage 4 brain cancer. Doctors were able to remove 99 percent of her brain tumor.
Menounos also told TMZ that her mom is "stable and doing well."
Check out the "Rocky Balboa" clip below:
