During Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony, Viola Davis presented Tyler Perry with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. And during an award show that was marked by a much less glitzy presentation than usual and a more somber mood, Perry still managed to get the audience on their feet with his inspiring acceptance speech. “My mother told me to refuse hate. She taught me to refuse blanket judgement,” Perry said.
Accepting his award, Perry shared a story about how, while shooting on location, he met a homeless woman who didn’t have shoes. He took her into the wardrobe department and fitted her with a proper pair of shoes, an anecdote that drove home the kind of genuine kindness Davis called out in her introduction.