Jennifer Lopez graciously accepted the Generation Award at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday night with a special shout out to anyone who’s ever underestimated her.
An emotional Lopez took the stage to accept her award after a montage of clips from various films played for the crowd.
“I look at those movies and I see all the wonderful people that I’ve been blessed to know and to work with. You’re only as good as the people that you work with,” she said. “And if you’re lucky, they make you better. And I have been very lucky in that regard. As an actor, I’m not any of the women that I’ve played, but there’s a part of what is deeply true to me in each one of those characters.”
Supportive people weren’t the only ones who made Lopez’s heartfelt speech. She also gave a shoutout to the doubters.
“And since you cannot create truth unless you’ve really lived it, I have a different kind of list of thank-yous tonight,” she said before acknowledging those who “broke her heart.”
“I want to thank all the people who gave me this life. I want to thank the people who gave me joy and the ones who broke my heart. The ones who were true and the ones who lied to me… I want to thank disappointment and failure for teaching me to be strong and my children for teaching me to love. I want to thank all the people who told me to my face or when I wasn’t in the room that I couldn’t do this. I really don’t think I could have done it without you! And I know I couldn’t have done it without the fans.”
The MTV Movie & TV Generation Award recognizes actors who successfully demonstrate diversity through their roles in films and TV. Previous recipients include Chris Pratt, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Downey Jr., Sandra Bullock, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Cruise and more.
