There were plenty of great 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards moments, but these speeches were true highlights.
Asia Kate Dillion
Technically, they were not accepting an award, but it's incredibly important that you know who gender non-conforming actor and presenter Asia Kate Dillon is.
"If you don't know me, I'm Asia Kate Dillon. This year has been full of firsts for me: I am the first non-binary actor to play a non-binary character on a major television show. And now, it's so cool to be here presenting the first acting award ever that celebrates performance free of any gender distinctions. Tonight, we celebrate portrayals of the human experience because the only distinction we should be making when it comes to awards is between each outstanding performance."
Emma Watson
Watson won the Best Actor In A Movie award and part of her speech was dedicated to what she loved about playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast.
"I think I'm being given this award because of who Belle is and what she represents. The villagers in our fairytale wanted to make Belle believe the world was smaller than they way that she saw it, with fewer opportunities for her. That her curiosity and passion for knowledge and her desire for more in life were grounds for alienation. I loved playing someone who didn't listen to any of that. I'm so proud to be part of a film that celebrates diversity, literacy, inclusion, joy, and love the way that this one does."
Millie Bobby Brown
Millie Bobby Brown happily accepted the award for Best Actor In A Show for her role as Eleven in Stranger Things. Tearfully and happily, she told the audience:
"I want to thank Shawn Levy for being one of the best directors I've ever had the pleasure of working with. Shawn, everything you taught me I will carry on for the rest of my career. And lastly, I want to thank the Duffer Brothers. They've created a badass, female, iconic character that I got the honor to play."
Ashton Sanders & Jharrel Jerome
Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome took home the golden popcorn for Best Kiss In A Movie. This pivotal moment in MTV Awards history was cemented with an incredibly fitting speech.
Jerome: "I think it is safe to say that it is okay for us young performers, especially us young minority performers, to step outside of the box. I think it is okay to step out of the box and do whatever it takes to tell the story and do whatever it takes to make a change. So, this award […] is for us artists who are out there who need to step [outside of] the box to do whatever it takes to get people to wake up."
Sanders: "This award is bigger than [Jerome] and I. It represents more than a kiss. This is for those who feel like the others, the misfits. This represents us."
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson represented the cast of Hidden Figures while accepting the Best Fight Against The System Award.
"This movie was bigger than all of us. We understood that. We understoon the task at hand. We understood that this is a part of history that needed to be reimplemented into the blood and veins of American history. And for me, it was very important because I grew up with an understanding…no one ever told me that girls couldn't do math and science, but there was an understanding […] that it was for boys. So, I remember getting this script and being very upset because I felt like a dream was stolen from me. It became my mission — and everyone's mission who was involved with this film — to dispel that myth so that another young girl would not grow up thinking that her mind wasn't capable of grasping math and science. If it were not for these women, we would not be in space."
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel accepted the MTV Generation Award with Fast & Furious co-stars Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster at his side.
"I gotta thank a generation that was willing to accept this multi-cultural franchise, where it didn't matter what color your skin was or what country you were from. When you're family, you're family. I could never stand on this stage and talk about The Fast & the Furious without giving love to my brother, Pablo [Paul Walker], our brother Pablo. We hope you're proud."
Daniel Kaluuya
Daniel Kaluuya won the MTV Next Generation Award.
"I'd also like to shout out to [Get Out director] Jordan Peele. That guy believed in me and he made something that made me and my friends me included. I feel mad appreciative."
Trevor Noah
The Daily Show host Trevor Noah accepted the award for Best Host.
"There's who I aspire to be every day and this is my mom. A powerful, strong black woman who never listened when people told her she couldn't be more. Every day I look to her, I dream of being a shadow of who she is."
Bill Condon, Emma Watson & Josh Gad
When Beauty & the Beast won for Best Movie, director Bill Condon had something pretty damn amazing to say.
"I just want thank you to the audience who embraced this movie, but especially to the women because women have proven that they are a huge and powerful audience; they are going to change the movie business."
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