JANET JACKSON BECOMES THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO RECEIVE THE BILLBOARD ICON AWARD

 

Janet Jackson is here letting us know that all we need to do is “give her that fire and she’s gonna show us how to burn it up”.

Janet Jackson graced the Billboard Music Awards stage to receive the prestigious Icon Award on Sunday in Las Vegas. Not only was the moment her first television performance in nine years, but it was also the first time she has performed as a mom. Yay superwoman!!!

Bruno Mars took to the stage to introduce Jackson. He rattled off her accolades and following a moving montage of her life and career — from the Jackson family’s humble beginnings in Gary, Indiana to her global chart-topping success—  he ended his intro naming her “the first black woman to ever receive the Billboard Icon Award.”

Janet Jackson walked proudly up to the mic and she began her speech with a nod to feminism and the uprising of women around the globe who continue to stand strong in the fight for equality.

“This is a moment when, at long last, women have made it clear that we will no longer be controlled, manipulated, or abused,” she said.

Halfway through her speech, she was met with cheers from the audience, who chanted her name repeatedly as she paused to take in the appreciation, before closing out the moment by thanking God for allowing her to do what she loves.

“Everything we lack, God has in abundance,” she added.

Some of her family members were in attendance, she was ably supported by her mom, sister, Ribee Jackson and her nephew Prince Micheal.