Actress, singer and activist, Janelle Monáe is this year’s SeeHer Award recipient

In December 2022, it was announced that the “Make Me Feel” singer would be receiving this year’s SeeHer award at the Critics Choice awards.

The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards is an annual award show presented by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association to honor the best and brightest in cinema each year. Before accepting the award the 37-year-old actress was introduced to the stage by her friend and “Glass Onion” co-star Kate Hudson.

“Tonight we recognize an extraordinary person whose work on and offscreen has helped advance gender equality,” Hudson said. “There are so many ways to describe Janelle, visionary artist, brilliant musician, inspirational one-of-a-kind human being. I remember the moment we met on Glass Onion, Janelle walked down this staircase in this bright yellow dress just exuding goddess regal energy and it was like the seas parted.”

After a brief thank you and hug Monáe took the stage to give her acceptance speech.

“I’m Janelle Monáe and my pronouns are she, her, they, them. But to her, a mother figure like my character Teresa, to an abandoned LGBTQIA+ person, because the family they were born into won’t accept them, I see you,” Monáe said. “To her, working in STEM like Mary Jackson, whose brilliant mind continues to advance the technology of this world that you are still fighting for equal pay, I see you. To the schoolteacher like Helen, risking your life every day to teach our kids because we still can’t get gun-control together in this country, I see you.”

Monáe went on to pay tribute to her “Glass Onion” character: “To her, with big ideas, like Andi, who constantly has to deal with billionaire douchebags with no original ideas parading around his genius, I see you. These are just a few of the characters I’ve had the honor of playing. And I tried to make an effort in my work, whether it’s storytelling through music, through film, through TV, to fashion, literature, to highlight the ones who’ve been pushed to the margins of society, who have been outcast or relegated to the other.”

“This is a deeply personal choice for me because I grew up to working-class parents. My mother was a janitor, my father was a trash man, and my grandmother was a sharecropper in Aberdeen, MS,” she explained. “It’s personal because I am nonbinary. I am queer and my identity influences my decisions and my work. I have always believed that through storytelling, we are able to shed light on the human experience, and experience that most people around this world won’t get an opportunity to see. I kind of keep this glimmer of hope in my heart that when someone meets a character like the ones that I’ve had an opportunity to play, you be more empathetic to their experience, more empathy. You want to be more like them. You want to be more kind, less judgmental, more eager to advocate for them.”

Monáe closed out her speech with a reminder to both her fans and viewers: “To anyone out there like me watching right now, I just want you to know that I see you. Challenge you to see you. Thank you to see her and thank you to the critics choice association for recognizing me. I stand in the biggest puddle of gratitude and for making me the recipient of the 2023 SeeHer award. Thank you.”

What is the SeeHer award

First given out in 2016 to Viola Davis, the SeeHer award was created to pay tribute to anyone from marketers, media organizations and industry influencers committed to furthering the accurate portrayal of women and girls as they truly are.

Previous recipients of the SeeHer award

Since it was first established and awarded in 2016 to Viola Davis, the list of powerful females in the industry has grown.

In 2017, Gal Gadot received the award for her role in “Wonder Woman” which along with being a powerful performance, was able to introduce a new genre of ‘sheroes’ to film and television.

A year later, “The Crown” actress Claire Foy won for her efforts and drive to choose complex female characters to bring to the entertainment industry. Kristen Bell took the award in 2019 for her longtime goal of playing intricate characters like Veronica Mars, Princess Anna, Eleanor Shellstrop, Sarah Marshall and more.

The 2020 award was given to Zendaya for her revolutionary and iconic character portrayals in “Euphoria”, “Malcolm & Marie” and more.

The most recent winner was Halle Berry, who received the award for both her directorial debut and performance in her film “Bruised” and how she broke stereotypes to bring it to life.

Full list of winners at the 2023 Critics Choice awards:

Best Picture - “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)

Best Actress - Cate Blanchett – “Tár” (Focus Features)

Best Actor - Brendan Fraser – “The Whale” (A24)

Best Director - Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)

Best Limited Series - “The Dropout” (Hulu)

Best Drama Series - “Better Call Saul” (AMC)

Best Young Actor/Actress - Gabriel LaBelle – “The Fabelmans” (Universal Pictures)

Best Comedy - “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix)

Best Acting Ensemble - “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix)

Best Talk Show - “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)

Best Comedy Special - “Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special” (Netflix)

Best Foreign Language Series - “Pachinko” (Apple TV+)

Best Animated Series - “Harley Quinn” (HBO Max)

Best Movie Made for Television - “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)

Best Actress in a Drama Series - Zendaya for “Euphoria” (HBO)

Best Actor in a Drama Series - Bob Odenkirk for “Better Call Saul” (AMC)

Best Hair and Makeup - “Elvis” (Warner Bros.)

Best Visual Effects - “Avatar: The Way of Water” (20th Century Studios)

Best Editing - Paul Rogers for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)

Best Production Design - Florencia Martin, Anthony Carlino for “Babylon” (Paramount Pictures)

Best Cinematography - Claudio Miranda for “Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount Pictures)

Best Comedy Series - “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

Best Actress in a Comedy Series - Jean Smart for “Hacks” (HBO Max)

Best Actor in a Comedy Series - Jeremy Allen White for “The Bear” (FX)

#SeeHer Award - Janelle Monáe

Lifetime Achievement Award - Jeff Bridges

Best Animated Feature - “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (Netflix)

Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television- Daniel Radcliffe for “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)

Best Costume Design - Ruth E. Carter for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Marvel Studios)

Best Song - “Naatu Naatu” for “RRR” (Variance Films)

Best Score - Hildur Guðnadóttir for “Tár” (Focus Features)

Best Original Screenplay - Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)

Best Adapted Screenplay - Sarah Polley for “Women Talking” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)

Best Supporting Actress - Angela Bassett for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Marvel Studios)

Best Supporting Actor - Ke Huy Quan for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Henry Winkler for “Barry” (HBO)

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - Sheryl Lee Ralph for “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television - Paul Walter Hauser for “Black Bird” (Apple TV+)

Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television - Niecy Nash-Betts for “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix)

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series - Giancarlo Esposito for “Better Call Saul” (AMC)

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - Jennifer Coolidge for “The White Lotus” (HBO)

Best Foreign Language Film - “RRR” (Variance Films)

Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made For Television - Amanda Seyfried for The Dropout (Hulu)