Jennifer Lopez Cries as She Thanks Her Children for ‘Teaching Me How to Love’ at MTV Movie Awards

Jennifer Lopez’s Generation Award at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards comes two months after she accepted the Icon Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 05: Honoree Jennifer Lopez accepts the MTV Generation Award onstage during the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards at Barker Hangar on June 05, 2022 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for MTV)

Jennifer Lopez is officially a Generation Award recipient.

During Sunday’s 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards, the 52-year-old star was honored with the Generation Award, which “celebrates beloved actors whose diverse contributions to both film and television have turned them into household names,” according to a release.

The actress and singer began her acceptance speech by referencing the highlight reel of her biggest films that played moments before.

“I look at those movies and 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. And if you’re lucky, they make you better. And I have been very lucky in that regard.”

She continued, “As an actor I’m not any of the women that I’ve played but there’s a part that is deeply true to me in each of those characters. Since you cannot create truth unless you’ve really lived it, I have a different kind of list of ‘thank yous’ tonight.”

“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,” Lopez said. “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.”

The “Let’s Get Loud” singer went on to thank “disappointment and failure for teaching me to be strong,” adding, “and my children for teaching me to love,” as she fought back tears.

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— Movie & TV Awards (@MTVAwards) June 6, 2022

Lopez, who is mom to 14-year-old twins Emme and Max, then received cheers from the audience as she became emotional and teary-eyed.

“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 who saw the movies.”

Pointing around the room to salute her fans, she said, “You are the reason that I am here … and I love you. I love you.”

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 05: Honoree Jennifer Lopez accepts the MTV Generation Award onstage during the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards at Barker Hangar on June 05, 2022 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for MTV)

She took a moment to thank her longtime manager Benny Medina, something she said she doesn’t typically do.

“He doesn’t like for me to talk about him. He likes to be in the background … But he’s more than just my manager. 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.”

Medina then sent love to Lopez from the crowd by blowing a sweet kiss.

“You know when someone’s at your side, you know when they’re there when you’re at your lowest and most hopeless point, you will never forget it. And you never want to let them down,” she said of Medina, telling the television producer, “I think I kept going more for you than for myself. 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 apologized to the audience for “get[ting] emotional,” adding, “You guys know me. It’s an honor to be able to connect with audiences — connect with you guys. And because of all of you, I will continue to do justice to that honor as long as I am around. I love you. Thank you so much.”

She also thanked the MTV team for supporting her “over the years.”

Ending with a message for her fiancé Ben Affleck, who was not present, Lopez said, “Wait for me to have dinner, I’ll be home by seven.”

Lopez has a movie career spanning decades. Some of her most memorable roles are as the titular music legend in 1997’s Selena, 2019’s Hustlers, as well as several romantic comedies over the years including The Wedding Planner, Maid in Manhattan and the recent Marry Me.

Back in March, the multi-hyphenate star accepted the Icon Award for her music career at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, where she said in part in her emotional speech, “I’m just getting started.”

“Because of you, I get to do what I love the most in life and that is the most wonderful blessing,” Lopez also told the crowd. “That’s a gift that you give me and I just want to say thank you for that. Thank you to everyone who comes to a show, streams a song, sees a movie, follows me. You guys are the ones who give me the opportunity every day to live a life I couldn’t even imagine would come true when I was a little girl growing up in the Bronx.”

Past recipients of the Generation Award include Scarlett Johansson, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chris Pratt, Will Smith, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Downey, Jr., Mark Wahlberg, Sandra Bullock, Jamie Foxx, Johnny Depp, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey and the entire Fast & Furious franchise.

The 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards and Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED are airing live from Barker Hangar in Los Angeles.

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