00:00Amazing. Just amazing. It's unbelievable. So, Academy members prepare themselves.
00:15I was astounded, I have to say thank you for writing, to be chosen among this illustrious group of women.
00:30That I can now call my compatriots, which is a marvel to me. I mean, Carolina is the boss of
00:40a network, for God's sake.
00:44I mean, Jennifer Hudson is the voice of a century.
00:56Clearly, Melissa McCarthy is the boss of comedy.
01:03There. All of you, all of you women, it's just, it's a miracle to me to be among you.
01:14And I'm really, completely gobsmacked that this is happening in my lifetime.
01:22I come from a tiny, and it's even a town, it's like a village.
01:29And it's an Amish village that is a port town in Pennsylvania, where all the good and all the horrible
01:38rolls in.
01:40Like every port town. But it's really tempered, because it's mostly an Amish town.
01:47Which really changes the climate of things, and left me very, very naive.
01:53So, when I got into this business, it would be safe to say I did not know my ass from
01:58my elbow.
02:00And I have been very sheltered and very cared for, and very helped by many of you in this room.
02:06And I just want to say, you're all still f***ing fabulous.
02:15To those of you who can let my name on you, I really appreciate that.
02:21You know, in this small town environment that I come from, I had a very, very cool, powerful dad who
02:32worked in a tool-and-die factory.
02:35And you worked swing shift, which for those of you who come from this town and don't know what that
02:41kind of work is.
02:43You work first shift one week, second shift the next week, and third shift the next week, and then you
02:48start over.
02:50And this is who you are. And you worked in a factory an hour away.
02:54And my dad had a lot of pride, and was a Democrat in a town where the newspaper was called
03:00the Tribune Republican.
03:05And he was the kind of guy who, you know, we had a flagpole in the side yard, and then
03:10the flag went up on these special holidays.
03:13And when someone hit hits. And there was never this sense that when the flag went up, it was a
03:23compromising, concerning, scandalous consideration.
03:29And this is why I've chosen the American Civil Liberties Union to stand with.
03:37Because I'm a product of the American Dream.
03:49The very fact that I'm here, and I would venture to guess if I could speak a little bit on
03:57behalf of my brand new compatriots.
04:00I don't think any of us were born on, well, my street was actually called Park Avenue.
04:07But not really.
04:09I don't think any of us really were born on Park Avenue.
04:13And I don't think anybody was rushing down to kick that door open, to swing it open for any of
04:19us gals.
04:21Nope.
04:23As I used to tell people, you can only f**k your way to the middle.
04:32You have to apply your way to the top.
04:44So for those of us that got here, it's the top of our heads that broke that glass ceiling we
04:55were all getting the benefits of.
04:57That's it.
04:58But, Perlana, thank you.
05:07Thank you, thank you.
05:11Melissa, you're fucking hilarious and thank you.
05:15Lisa, thank you.
05:17All of you.
05:20You know, it matters to me that our very first amendment is the freedom of speech.
05:36It matters to me that that includes the freedom of the press, and that is you, Karate.
05:48And it matters very much to me.
05:52Don't forgive me.
05:56I've got my powder cuff.
06:00I can't have this at all.
06:03A lot of emotions.
06:05But it matters to me, that red, white, and blue.
06:09Yes!
06:16And I have come a distance.
06:19I have come a distance from being a sex symbol.
06:23And I, like all of you, am still hot.
06:33And I did it by keeping both of these tired feet that hurt from wearing four-inch heels
06:41on poured concrete floors.
06:45I kept them firmly planted on terra firma, because there is no gray in the red, white, and blue.
06:53Yes, sir!
07:01So the power that I feel in the power of women, I get because I am standing in the middle
07:11of you, and I do not stand alone when I stand there.
07:17Thank you, Karate.
07:17Thank you, Karate.
07:17Thank you, Karate.
07:19Thank you, Karate.
07:20Thank you, Karate.
