Thank you. I'm a crier.
So, I looked up the actual definition of trailblazer
and it means someone who blazes a trail
to be followed by others.
And that's an honor to hear that you're being associated
with a concept like that, but the only thing I can hope
that something like this award inspires is originality,
because the trailblazers that I've looked up to
and been inspired by
are people like Gilda Radner and Bill Murray
and John Candy and Charlie Chaplin
and The Beatles, JD Salinger, and Lorne Michaels,
who reminds me of the importance of comedy, and Cameron Crowe,
whose work consistently reminds me why I want to be an actor.
And those people are my creative trailblazers,
but I am not following any of their paths.
And what's incredible about them is they help
make me want to be more myself, because they're all originals.
And I hope that you'll find your trailblazers,
and trust me, I do not need to be one of them.
I probably shouldn't be one of them.
But that you'll continue to harness your own originality
and what makes you unique,
because I know that when you're a teenager,
and even sometimes when you're an adult,
what sets you apart can feel like a burden and it's not.
And a lot of time, it's what makes you great.
So, I kind of sound like I live in a van
down by the river right now,
but I am deeply touched and grateful for this.
Thank you.
Thank you, Logan, Eddie, and Jonah!
You guys are gonna make me cry. That was so nice.
So after seeing this clip, I look back at all of the work
I've done over the last 14 years and many things come to mind,
most importantly how bad my hair
was in the first "Harry Potter" film.
But the cool thing is that you have supported me
in all of my awkwardness
and allowed me to grow into the kind of actress
and kind of person that I hope to be.
So thank you very much for that.
Becoming yourself is really hard and confusing
and it's a process.
I was completely the eager beaver in school.
I was the girl in the front of the class
who was the first person to put her hand up,
and it's often not cool to be the person
that puts themself out there.
And I've often gotten teased mercilessly,
but I've found that ultimately,
if you truly pour your heart into what you believe in,
even if it makes you vulnerable,
amazing things can and will happen.
So, I'm so honored to be receiving this and I promise
to keep making the best work that I can for all of you.
And thank you so much. Thank you.
Wow, okay. I was here three years ago.
I think it was three years ago when Emma Stone won this award.
I was in the audience and I remember what she said
because it stayed with me all of these years.
She came up here and she defined what a trailblazer was,
which was an innovator, someone who forges a new path.
And in her speech, Emma said,
"We meet thousands of people who" -
Maybe I'm elaborating. Maybe she didn't say that.
But we meet thousands of people who we feel inspired by,
but we'll never be anyone other than ourselves.
And in thinking about that,
and thinking about this whole concept of trailblazing,
I realized that we can't fully be ourselves
without a community.
We can't be ourselves without people to reflect back
to us who we really are.
And in that, I just, I keep, I keep marveling at this idea
of who we pick up along the trail along our ways,
and who becomes our communities. Whoever your community is, it's-
What am I trying to say? I just have no idea.
Looking at all of you, I know some of you,
I don't know some of you,
but for all of you who have been pillars to me, thank you.
And for all of you who I have been able to be a pillar for,
I will continue to be a pillar for.
And so whoever your community is, be pillars for those people
and let's- I was gonna say let's blaze on,
but I don't know if can say that.
So let's trailblaze on. Have a good night.
Wow, wow, wow.
Look, I was so elated when I heard
I was gonna get the Trailblazer Award
that I decided to look up what the word actually means.
According to the dictionary,
it means to be a pioneer or an innovator,
and I'm extremely grateful that you guys see me in that light.
But I believe the only reason
why I'm even allowed to stand here
is because of a few other trailblazers
that some of you might not be aware of.
I discovered these trailblazers
when I watched a brilliant documentary
I saw many years ago called "Paris Is Burning."
This movie was released in 1990
and it documents the lives of some of the bravest human beings
to ever walk the face of this Earth.
Jimmy Livingston's film takes an intimate look at
ball culture
culture in Harlem, New York, in the 1980s.
It introduced me to trailblazers such as Pepper Labeija,
Dorian Corey, Angie Xtravaganza,
and Willi Ninja, just to name a few.
Tonight, I wanna share this award with them.
I wanna do what we as a society
should have done a long time ago,
and that's give them the glory and the shine they deserve.
A lot of people featured in this film are no longer with us,
but their legacies will never die
because they live on in all of us
and every time someone says "shade" or talks about reading
or just decides to serve face for no reason at all,
please look up to the sky and give thanks
because we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
They strutted through a brick wall
so we wouldn't have to.
Thank you so much for this award.
God bless y'all. Good night.