So last night, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson took home the prestigious Generation Award at the 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards!
Now, we all know that before The Rock became a box-office king, he solidified his status as one of the greatest pro-wrestlers of all time. And when you're WWE royalty, you don't just walk onto a stage. You make that stage your bish!
Not only did his entrance feature Queen's "We Will Rock You" on full blast, but he also showcased a brilliant mash-up performance of the haka and stepping to celebrate both his black and Samoan heritage.
After alladat, The Rock could have legit walked on stage, took his award, and dropped the mic, and I STILL would have stanned. But instead, the superstar delivered an acceptance speech that left me inspired, teary-eyed, and in my feeeeels.
"The most powerful thing that we can be is ourselves," he said. "When I first got to Hollywood, they didn’t know what the hell to do with me. I was this half-black, half-Samoan, 6-foot-4, 275-pound pro-wrestler."
"I was told at that time, 'Well, you gotta be a certain way. You gotta drop some weight, you gotta be somebody different. You gotta stop working out.' Stop doing the things that I love. 'You’ve gotta stop calling yourself The Rock.' What?'
"So I made a choice," he said. "And the choice was, I wasn't going to conform to Hollywood, Hollywood was going to conform to me. So, Hollywood conformed to me, and here I am with all of you getting the Generation Award. HOLY SHIT!"
The Hollywood powerhouse also emphasized the importance of pairing authenticity with kindness, compassion, and inclusivity. "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."
AND ON THAT NOTE: CONGRATS, MR. ROCK!!! KEEP DOING YOU AND WE'LL KEEP ON DOING US <3
