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.
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 wouldn’t have put their two uglies together and they wouldn’t 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 out—she 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 she’s trying to produce and create, and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I’m not trying to get pregnant yet, Michael, but I’m 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 don’t even—I don’t read reviews. I don’t. The most reviews you’ll see me read is something that either my publicist sends me and says, ‘Read this,’ and I’m like, ‘You read it,’ because if it hurt my feelings I’m going to cuss their ass out in my soul, and then I’m going to pray for them, and I’ll laugh. Because I’m super-sensitive. I don’t mean to be so sensitive, but that’s just who I am. And I’m not afraid to admit it.” This would be me too if I were famous.
4. She called out the haters with style
“And I know I’m going to do a lot of different things in this business. I’m going to be around here a long time. I’m going to be an old lady. I know some people in here are going to talk shit about me. It’s O.K. You know why it’s O.K.? Because you care enough to say something. If you didn’t say nothing, then you didn’t care. So if you said something, thank you. I don’t care if it’s positive or negative. I appreciate you; I’m glad you see me. Because it’s been so many years nobody saw me.”
5. She shared her experience with foster care & instilled hope that dreams come true
“When you’re a little kid going through the [foster-care] system, you wonder, ‘Does anybody even know I’m alive?’ To be able to be this example to so many youth—there’s 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 isn’t afraid to be herself
”It’s going to be a lot of people that say what they think. It’s going to be a lot of people where [unintelligible] is normal, because they’re not holding back their truth. Stop holding your truth; speak your truth. Be yourself. It’s the healthiest way to be. Be who you are. Speak who you are. If don’t nobody like you, f–k it; there’s 10 other people that do. There’s somebody like you, and they need to hear you. So, I’m always going to be me. I’m never going to be perfect, I’m always going to say what I think, and I might be messed up for it, but I don’t care.” Preach!
7. She loves her BFF
”And I want to give a special shout-out to all the people that supported me throughout all these years. My best friend, Selena. I’ve known you since we were 12 years old. I walked up to you like, ‘You’re going to be my friend’ and you was like ‘What?’ And you’re 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.”
8. She reminded us all that we are our own heroes.
”I hope everybody who’s in here has the most awesome 2018. I hope that your cycles come on time. If you don’t want it to come, I hope it don’t come. I hope every man in here is super-happy and super-rich, and if you’re not happy, change your thought patterns and start having happy thoughts. Because it’s your fault you’re not happy. Nobody’s in control of your emotions but you.”
9. She is strong and confident.
”Think of me as a wild dog, because I’m confident. I smile. Come up confident, and look me dead in my eyes, I’m going to be cool with you. Come up scared and act like a bitch, it’s how you’re going to get treated.”
10. Her final thank you’s 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.”
If you don’t love Tiffany Haddish yet, you better start because this is amazing. Never give up on your dreams.