She’d been waiting for this night.
Bronx-born superstar Jennifer Lopez accepted the Generation Award at Sunday’s MTV Movie & TV Awards with an emotional acceptance speech thanking the supporters and critics who influenced her career.
“I want to thank the people who gave me joy and the ones who broke my heart,” Lopez said at the ceremony held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.
“The ones who were true and the ones who lied to me. I want to thank true love and I want to thank the way that I lied to myself, because that’s how I knew that I had to grow. ... 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’ve done it without you. And I know I couldn’t have done it without the fans who saw the movies.”
The annual honor recognizes artists for their impact on the film and television industries, with previous recipients including Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt, Jamie Foxx and Sandra Bullock.
In addition to her hit-making music career, Lopez, 52, is known for movies such as “Selena,” “The Wedding Planner” and “Hustlers.”
Earlier Sunday, Lopez, who wore a cleavage-baring leather bodice, received the trophy for best song for “On My Way” from her romantic-comedy “Marry Me,” which came out this year.
“I didn’t expect this,” Lopez said. “I was here for later.”
Lopez headlined a night that was also dominated by Marvel projects, including “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which netted the award for best movie, and for best performance in a movie for star Tom Holland.
The stars of Marvel’s superhero series “Loki,” meanwhile, took home the honor for best team, while actress Sophia Di Martino won best breakthrough performance for her role as Sylvie.
“I was nine months pregnant when they offered me the job,” said Di Martino. “My baby was three months old when we started filming, so it’s been quite a journey. So this really means a lot for me.”
The award for best show went to the edgy high-school drama “Euphoria,” with star Zendaya winning the trophy for best performance in a show.
“We are so appreciative for everyone’s love and support,” actress Sydney Sweeney said.
“Euphoria,” which led all shows with seven nominations, won four honors.
Fans voted for the winners of Sunday’s ceremony, which was hosted by “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens.
Singer-actress Olivia Rodrigo, who rose to fame on the spinoff show “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” also struck a high note Sunday by winning best music documentary for “driving home 2 u,” which chronicles the making of her album “Sour.”
“This album means so much to me, and it was so fun to make a film that gave more context and meaning,” said Rodrigo, who won three Grammys in April, including best new artist.
Another high-energy moment came when funnyman Jack Black somersaulted onto the stage to accept the comedic genius award.
“Comedic genius? Come on, are you kidding?” Black said. “For what? ‘School of Rock’? ‘Jumanji’? ‘Kung-Fu Panda’? ‘Goosebumps’? ‘Nacho Libre’? ‘Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny’? My sweet dance moves on Tik Tok? ... I don’t deserve this but I will take it!”
Sunday marked a return to normalcy for an award show that transitioned to a virtual “Greatest of All Time” special in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and took place at the Hollywood Palladium in a pared-down ceremony last year.
Originally named the MTV Movie Awards, the event was rebranded in 2017 to also recognize TV. Sunday was the 30th edition of the annual ceremony, which began in 1992.
Airing immediately after the main ceremony was MTV’s second-ever Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED, which celebrates reality TV. Bethenny Frankel of “The Real Housewives of New York City” was named the recipient of the reality royalty award.
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