The triple-threat star was presented with the Generation Award.
Jennifer Lopez was honored with the Generation Award during the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday night. Presented the award by the show's host and her Second Act co-star, Vanessa Hudgens, Lopez's accomplishments were listed in full as a medley of her best moments from her decades-long career in TV, film, music and fashion, flashed across the screen.
Wearing a black corset-topped gown by Monot and black JLO Jennifer Lopez heels, Lopez accepted the honor by first thanking her fans.
"Thank you. Thank you. I love you so much," Lopez gushed. "You know, I look at those movies and I 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 am not any of the women that I played but there is a part that is deeply true to me and each one of the characters, and since you cannot create truth unless you really lived it, I have a different kind of list of thank-yous tonight."
Lopez had a long list of thank yous to dole out, to those who gave her joy and those who broke her heart, and true love as well as failure for teaching her to be strong.
"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, the ones who were true and the ones who lied to me," Lopez said. "I want to thank true love and I want to thank the way that I lied to myself, because that's how I knew I that had to grow."
"I want to think disappointment and failure for teaching need to be strong, and my children for teaching me to love," she added while holding back tears.
Speaking directly to those who doubted her, the 52-year-old singer-actress thanked those who didn't believe in her for giving her the fuel to keep going.
"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," she maintained before turning to the crowd of fans behind her. "And I know I couldn't have done it without you, you, you, you."
Lopez also took a moment to give a special shoutout to her manager, Benny Medina, who she said believed in her from the beginning, even when she didn't believe in herself.
"He's more than just my manager. If there is 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 wrote that day, he never let me stop believing in myself, it was him," Lopez stressed. "You know when someone is at your side, you know when they're there when you're at your lowest and most hopeless point, that you will never forget it, and you never want to let them down. And there were times so low, I think I kept on going more for you than for myself. I love you. Thank you. You are the true meaning of a ride or die."
Touched by the award and by the love and support from her fans, Lopez pledged to continue to entertain the world for as long as she is able to.
"It's an honor to be able to connect with audiences, and because of all of you I will continue to hold onto that honor as long as I am around," she promised. "I love you. Thank you so much."
Lopez continued, "I'd also like to thank Bruce and everybody at MTV for this Generation Award. You guys are amazing. Thank you for making such an amazing platform for all artists, especially me."
And of course, she had to give a special thank you to her fiancé, Ben Affleck, who was watching from home Sunday night.
"And Ben, and everybody at home: wait for me to have dinner, I'll be home by seven," Lopez quipped before exiting the stage.
In addition to the Generation Award, MTV previously honored the icon with the Video Vanguard Award in 2018. While accepting that career distinction, she said, “It has been a crazy journey, dreaming my dreams and watching them come true… This career has always been kind of an obsession for me.”
Past recipients of the Generation Award include Scarlett Johansson, Dwayne 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.
Ahead of Sunday's show, Hudgens, who said she was honored to present Lopez with the award, told ET’s Lauren Zima about her adoration for Lopez who played her mom in Second Act, "She’s such an icon and she just keeps on going. I don’t know anyone who works harder than she does. And I just really admire her workforce, but also just her and what she is to the world. I adore her."
The Generation Award wasn't the only trophy Lopez walked away with Sunday night. She also took home the golden popcorn for Best Song for "On My Way (Marry Me)" from Marry Me.
The 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards kicked off live from Barker Hangar on Sunday, June 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was immediately followed by the Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED, hosted by Tayshia Adams beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
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