warning: emotional

J.Lo and Bethenny Frankel’s MTV Awards Speeches Were Oscar-Worthy

It’s a genre. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos by Getty Images

Jennifer Lopez and Bethenny Frankel gave effusive and varied performances as “human women accepting awards†at the MTV Movie & TV Awards on June 5. Famed nude lip–wearer J.Lo won the Generation Award for her work as an actor, of all things, which put her in the same lineage as past recipients Chris Pratt and the entire cast of the Fast & Furious franchise. She clearly took this as a great honor, crying through much of a speech that may have been originally drafted as an Oscars acceptance speech for Hustlers but worked fine here — with the addition of a Ben Affleck mention. “I wanna thank all the people who told me to my face or when I wasn’t in the room that I couldn’t do this!†J.Lo said, “I really don’t think I could have done it without you.†It’s worth remembering that the MTV Movie & TV Awards statue is a golden bucket of popcorn.

Former Real Housewife and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart runner-up Bethenny Frankel gave an equally impressive speech on receiving the MTV Reality Royalty Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted later that night. Frankel accepted the award from Paris Hilton and quoted a popular TikTok audio: “Not everybody fits in the bad-bitch genre,†she began her speech. “It’s a jon-rah.â€

“This is full circle. I took care of Paris when she was barely out of diapers,†Frankel said. “This is actually the announcement for our new reality show where Paris changes my diapers.†(Frankel is ten years older than Hilton.) Frankel ended her speech with a few words “to my daughter and to all of you who have a dream … We have to play checkers every day, but this whole ride is one gigantic chess board,†she said, seeking to inspire the masses. “Choose your moves wisely and don’t go for the low-hanging fruit. The shiniest apple is sitting at the top.†The relationship between apples and chess — outside of the Twilight series — remains unclear at this time.

J.Lo, Bethenny Frankel Had Oscar-Worthy MTV Awards Speeches