I know I don't have a lot of time

But if I may tell you a quick story

Recently I was driving my daughter to school and she said to me

Out of the blue 'Mama

I said 'Yes baby

She said 'I'm the ugliest girl I know

And I said 'Huh

And she was like

Yeah I look like a boy with long hair

And my brain went to Oh my god you're 6

Why

Where is this coming from

Who said this

Can I kick a 6 year old's a*s like what

But I didn't say anything

Instead I went home and I made a Powerpoint presentation for her

And in that presentation were androgynous rockstars and artists that live their truth

Are probably made fun of every day of their life

And carry on wave their flag

And inspire the rest of us

And these are artists like Michael Jackson

And David Bowie and Freddie Mercury and Annie Lennox

And Prince and Janis Joplin and George Michael Elton John

So many artists her eyes glazed over But then I said

You know I really wanna know why you feel this way about yourself

And she said 'Well I look like a boy and I said

Well what do you think I look like

And she said

Well you're beautiful And I was like

Well thanks But when people make fun of me that's what they use

They say I look like a boy or I'm too masculine or I have too many opinions my body is too strong

And I said to her 'Do you see me growing my hair

She said

No Mama I said 'Do you see me changing my body

No Mama 'Do you see me changing the way I present myself to the world

No Mama 'Do you see me selling out arenas all over the world

Yes Mama 'OK So baby girl We don't change

We take the gravel and the shell and we make a pearl

And we help other people to change so they can see more kinds of beauty

And to all the artists here I'm so inspired by all of you

Thank you for being your true selves and for lighting the way for us

I'm so inspired by you guys

There's so much rad s**t happening in music

And keep doing it keep shining for the rest of us to see

And you my darling girl are beautiful and I love you

Thank you MTV This is a really special night

Thank you Ellen I couldn't love you more

Thank you guys Goodnight