Jennifer Lopez was honored today at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Breakfast Gala and she was introduced to the stage after a touching speech by Kerry Washington.

JLo received the Equity in Entertainment Award during the event on Wednesday morning (December 3) at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

Kerry talked about growing up in the Bronx and how Jennifer inspired her to pursue her dreams.

Keep reading to find out more…

“Equity in entertainment is a relay, I think. You know, someone hands you a story, a role, an opportunity, and you pass it forward hopefully farther, and in my very flawed and human in a human way, I have tried to be intentional and honor,” Jennifer said. “Benny Medina did that for me with Selena. He took a huge risk and changed my life…And I remember that when I’m advocating for stories that reflect our multifaceted realities, pushing for inclusivity that goes beyond tokenism and fostering authentic connection and understanding, trying hard to ensure our screens reflect the kaleidoscope of human experience where no one is relegated to the program. We did that boldly decades before we had phrases like representation matters.”

Watch her speech below!

Kerry gave a 13-minute speech to honor JLo.

“I honestly didn’t think I had what it took. I mean, Jennifer was different. She was always gorgeous, always a phenom. When her star started to rise, nobody in the neighborhood was surprised. She was always a supernova,” Kerry said.

She continued, “When Jennifer left the Bronx to move out to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment, she taught me what creative courage looks like. And when she started to appear every Sunday night on our TV screens as a fly girl during In Living Color, she taught me the value of chasing my own unique dreams. When she blew audiences away in Selena and then in movie after movie after movie, she taught me to make room in my heart and in my imagination for what to anyone else might seem impossible.”

“I couldn’t imagine myself on the cover of magazines, or doing beauty campaigns or at fancy awards breakfasts, so when my star started to rise, I struggled a lot. Inevitably I would do some photoshoot or an interview and when it came out, the visibility would send me into a panic. But sometimes, on a lucky day or maybe on a day when my therapy was working, I would remember to think of Jennifer and I would say, ‘Jen does this. She was doing! And I knew her!’ She was one of us,” Kerry said. “She was out there taking risks and being bold and breaking records and making history, and if she could do all that, maybe I could get out of bed and go to another audition despite my feelings that I wasn’t enough.”

“It might sound like hyperbole but I am telling you: Without Jennifer Lopez, there is no Kerry Washington. But here’s the crazier reality — I am one of millions of people who feel that way. This award is so fitting for Jennifer, the Equity in Entertainment award, because it is for someone who promotes and amplifies the voices of underrepresented communities in this industry. Jennifer has always used her platform to represent the beauty and humanity of her community and to create endless opportunities for others to do the same,” she said.

Watch below!