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Jennifer Lopez thanks those who 'gave me joy' and 'broke my heart' in MTV awards

The iconic performer gave a moving speech at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards while accepting the Generation Award.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez accepts the MTV Generation Award onstage during the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards at Barker Hangar on June 5, 2022 in Santa Monica, Calif.Kevin Winter / Getty Images
/ Source: TODAY

Jennifer Lopez knows it’s taken a lot of people to help her get where she is today.

The iconic performer gave a moving speech Sunday at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards while accepting the Generation Award, which “celebrates beloved actors whose diverse contributions to both film and television have turned them into household names.”

Lopez, 52, began her speech by talking about the many films she’s been in.

“I look at those movies and I see all the wonderful people that I’ve been blessed to know and to work with,” she said. “You’re only as good as the people that you work with 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 of those characters.”

The “Hustlers” star then went on to acknowledge the people in her own life who spurred her on to success, without naming anyone specific at first.

“Since you cannot create truth unless you’ve really lived it, I have a different kind of list of ‘thank yous’ tonight,” she said. “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 true love and I want to thank the way that I lied to myself because that’s how I knew that I had to grow. I want to thank disappointment and failure for teaching me to be strong. And my children for teaching me to love,” as she fought back tears while the audience gave her a huge round of applause, as she referenced twins Max and Emme, 14.

“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,” she continued. “And I know I couldn’t have done it without the fans who saw the movies.

“You are the reason that I am here and I love you.”

Lopez also thanked her manager, Benny Medina.

“If there’s one person who believed in me from the beginning, from the first time I played him a raggedy little demo of a song that I had wrote that day. He never let me stop believing in myself. It was him,” she said as she the audience cheered.

“You know when someone’s at your side, you know when they’re there when you’re at your lowest and most hopeless point, that you will never forget it. And you never want to let them down,” she said.

“And there were times so low that I think I kept going more for you than for myself because I love you. Thank you. You’re the true meaning of ride or die. That is the truth. It hasn’t been easy but I wouldn’t change anything for the world.”

Lopez ended her speech with a shoutout for fiancé Ben Affleck “and everybody at home.”

“Wait for me to have dinner. I’ll be home by seven,” she said.

This story was first published on Today.com.

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