America Ferrera honors Jenna Ortega, Selena Gomez in powerful awards speech

Barbie’s America Ferrera accepted the SeeHer Award at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards with an inspiring speech, honoring Jenna Ortega, Selena Gomez in her speech. 

After her powerful monologue in Barbie became one of the highlights of the movie, America Ferrera accepted her SeeHer award with another impactful speech. The award honors actresses who play minorities on screen and advocate for gender equality.

Receiving the award from her co-star Margot Robbie, the 34-year-old said: “Thank you so much to the Critics Choice Association! Your powerful voices shape how people think about and value the stories we tell. I'm deeply thankful to you for this honor.”

“Receiving an award for my contributions to more authentic portrayals of women and girls is so incredibly meaningful to me because I grew up as a first generation Honduran-American girl in love with TV, film and theater, who desperately wanted to be a part of a storytelling legacy that I could not see myself reflected in,” she added.

Ferrera also reflected on the underrepresentation of Latina characters in Hollywood, saying: “Of course, I could feel myself in characters who were strong and complex, but these characters rarely, if ever, looked like me.”

“I yearned to see people like myself on screen as full humans. When I started working over 20 years ago, it seemed impossible that anyone could make a career portraying fully dimensional Latina characters,” she shared.

Praising the filmmakers who have contributed to increased representation of minorities in films, she said: “But because of writers, directors, producers & executives daring enough to rewrite outdated stories and challenge deeply entrenched biases, I and a few of my sister colleagues, have been superemly blessed.”

“Because of that we had the chance to bring through some deeply layered Latina characters. Characters I couldn't have seen growing up. But now I can see her,” she said.

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants star mentioned other Latina actresses and singers in Hollywood: “But now I can see her and I see her expanding in the next generation of talent like my beloved Ariana Greenblatt, who plays my daughter in Barbie, and in Jenna Ortega, and in Selena Gomez, and in so many more out there.”

"To me, this is the best and highest use of storytelling to affirm one another’s full humanity, to uphold the truth that we are all worthy of being seen — Black, brown, indigenous Asian, trans, disabled, any body type, any gender. We are all worthy of having our lives richly and authentically reflective," Ferrera concluded.