Actress Tiffany Haddish accepted her award for Best Supporting Actress in the film Girls Trip at the New York Film Critics Circle Gala and gave an 18-minute speech. The entire speech was so inspiring and genius, it’s hard not to include the entire transcript. Instead, I broke down the speech into the top 10 highlights. If you don’t leave this article feeling inspired, you’re crazy.Ā
1. She wasn’t afraid to share her love for God & add a little humor.
“O.K. First, I want to thank God, because without God, my mama and daddy wouldnāt have put their two uglies together and they wouldnāt have made me. That was all God right there. He put two crazy people together to make this one awesome, crazy person. So I super-thank God.”
2. Her bold flirting moves with Michael B. Jordan were amazing.
“Like, she got some weed or some drink in both hands; she holding on to the rings, you know, because she trying to get a ring on it,” she said while referring to the statue on her award. “She working outāshe got dumbbells. She holding feathers because she take care of animals and creatures. She got an eraser to erase the bullshit. She holding on to some seeds or a pinecone, which means sheās trying to produce and create, and thatās exactly what Iām trying to do. Iām not trying to get pregnant yet, Michael, but Iām working on it. B. Jordan.” Get it, girl.
3. She admitted that she’s *super* sensitive, which is so relatable
“So now that I get to meet the critics, first off, thank you, guys. I donāt evenāI donāt read reviews. I donāt. The most reviews youāll see me read is something that either my publicist sends me and says, āRead this,ā and Iām like, āYou read it,ā because if it hurt my feelings Iām going to cuss their ass out in my soul, and then Iām going to pray for them, and Iāll laugh. Because Iām super-sensitive. I donāt mean to be so sensitive, but thatās just who I am. And I’m not afraid to admit it.ā This would be me too if I were famous.
4. She called out the haters with style
“And I know Iām going to do a lot of different things in this business. Iām going to be around here a long time. Iām going to be an old lady. I know some people in here are going to talk shit about me. Itās O.K. You know why itās O.K.? Because you care enough to say something. If you didnāt say nothing, then you didnāt care. So if you said something, thank you. I donāt care if itās positive or negative. I appreciate you; Iām glad you see me. Because itās been so many years nobody saw me.”
5. She shared her experience with foster care & instilled hope that dreams come true
“When youāre a little kid going through the [foster-care] system, you wonder, ‘Does anybody even know Iām alive?’ To be able to be this example to so many youthāthereās so many people like me that you guys have no clue about. But they coming. Because I kicked the f*cking door open.”
6. She isnāt afraid to be herself
āItās going to be a lot of people that say what they think. Itās going to be a lot of people where [unintelligible] is normal, because theyāre not holding back their truth. Stop holding your truth; speak your truth. Be yourself. Itās the healthiest way to be. Be who you are. Speak who you are. If donāt nobody like you, f–k it; thereās 10 other people that do. Thereās somebody like you, and they need to hear you. So, Iām always going to be me. I’m never going to be perfect, Iām always going to say what I think, and I might be messed up for it, but I donāt care.ā Preach!
7. She loves her BFFĀ
āAnd I want to give a special shout-out to all the people that supported me throughout all these years. My best friend, Selena. Iāve known you since we were 12 years old. I walked up to you like, āYouāre going to be my friendā and you was like āWhat?ā And youāre still my friend. And she never tried to kick me to the curb, and that means she laughed at all my stupid jokes. Told me when I was doing too much, told me when I was doing just enough, and told me when to do more, and I appreciate you for that.ā
8. She reminded us all that we are our own heroes.
āI hope everybody whoās in here has the most awesome 2018. I hope that your cycles come on time. If you donāt want it to come, I hope it donāt come. I hope every man in here is super-happy and super-rich, and if youāre not happy, change your thought patterns and start having happy thoughts. Because itās your fault youāre not happy. Nobodyās in control of your emotions but you.ā
9. She is strong and confident.
āThink of me as a wild dog, because Iām confident. I smile. Come up confident, and look me dead in my eyes, Iām going to be cool with you. Come up scared and act like a bitch, itās how youāre going to get treated.ā
10. Her final thank youās were just too cute not to include.
“My name is Tiffany Haddish. I want to give it up to this lady back here. And to God, my grandma, my mama, my daddy, and everybody who taught me not to be afraid.”Ā
If you don’t love Tiffany Haddish yet, you better start because this is amazing. Never give up on your dreams.Ā