Lady Gaga Brought to Tears During Halle Berry’s Emotional Critics Choice Awards 2022 Speech

Lady Gaga struggled to hold back tears as Halle Berry delivered her acceptance speech at the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards. During the Sunday night show, Berry accepted the SeeHer Award Sunday, presented by Insecure star Issa Rae, for her film Bruised, and as Berry delivered the powerful message about female empowerment, the House of Gucci star could be seen growing emotional in the audience.

Taking the stage to receive the award, Berry began her speech by revealing that her role in the hit Netflix film wasn’t originally written for someone “who looked like me.” However, Berry explained that she tailored the role to herself, all while also taking on the project as director, according to PEOPLE. Berry, who delivered a powerful message calling for more women to tell women’s stories, noted that storytelling “can raise our consciousness and help us think outside of ourselves and our individual circumstances.”She added that she “realized that we truly need to see each other’s reality – no matter how uncomfortable it makes us – so that we can stop judging and stop pointing fingers, but rather find compassion and empathy for the others.”

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“I’ve been in the business for 30 years, and I used to think that if I could play the part of a white man, then I was winning. But you know what, wanna know why that didn’t work? Because, if you didn’t know, I’m not a white man,” Berry continued. “So, for those roles to work, they would have to be substantially changed. It would have to be written with the reality of my journey, in all of its beauty and all of its pain. This is why I am so grateful to be standing and living in this moment where women are standing up and we are telling our own stories.”

The actress called for women to “use our emotional intelligence and we will tell stories that don’t fit preconceived notions. No, we will tell stories that see us fully in all our multitudes and contradictions.” Berry said, “We are confident and we are scared. We are vulnerable and we are strong. … We are everything and all of that and all at the same time! If we deny our complexities, then we deny our humanity.” Berry continued, “We won’t always be pretty, and we will never be perfect, but what we will be is always honest and true.” Berry concluded by sharing that such stories “are the stories we have to fight to tell, and these are the stories that the world needs to see. So, to every little girl who feels unseen and unheard, this is our way of saying to you: We love you and we see you, and you deserve every good thing in this world.”

Throughout the speech, Gaga, who appeared in the audience, could be seen growing emotional, at one point even bringing her hands up to her face and closing her eyes. Following the ceremony, Berry reiterated her message on Instagram, where she wrote, “Our voice is the most powerful tool we have, and it’s imperative that we stand up and use it!”