There's no doubt that Melissa McCarthy is simply one of the greatest comedic actors around right now. The Spy and The Boss star has played so many incredible characters in hit movies, where she makes audiences laugh with her brand of physical comedy and heart. So it was so well-deserved when Melissa McCarthy won the MTV Movie Comedic Genius Award on Saturday night and became the first woman to do so. The MTV Movie Awards, co-hosted by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart, were taped on Saturday night at Warner Bros. Studios and will air on Sunday night, when fans can see McCarthy accept her Golden Popcorn award in epic fashion.
"I may be the first woman to receive this award but am not certainly certainly not the first one to deserve it," she said in her speech. "I am a walking human patchwork of other remarkable funny women who I loved and studied over the years." When the stairs to the stage disappeared, McCarthy crowd-surfed to the stage to accept her award and accidentally knocked it to the floor. Hart helped pick it up — leaving him to be called by McCarthy, "The Rock's Assistant." It was all in good fun in that trademark McCarthy way. Throughout the rest of her speech, the comedic genius saluted the many other funny women who came before her and who were also worthy of the award, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tracey Ullman, Terri Garr, Gilda Radner, Lucille Ball, Bette Midler, and Whoopi Goldberg. McCarthy also thanked her mom and said, "My mum Sandy Lynn McCarthy taught me not to fear being the butt of the joke or told me not about being likeable or perfect and to lovingly go for the kill."
She also thanked MTV — of course — and her fans. "I want to thank MTV for this incredible award and thank every single person who buys a ticket to one of my movies or watches my show," McCarthy said. "You are the reason I get to keep doing what I do."
And when it comes to McCarthy, such an empowering and grateful speech was to be expected. That's just how she rolls. She's the third person to receive this relatively new honor, which was awarded to Will Farrell in 2013 and Hart in 2015, and she's the first one to give a speech that's packed with such importance.
It's been a big weekend for McCarthy. Her newest comedy flick The Boss opened this weekend and topped the box office, closely beating out Batman Vs. Superman for No. 1. The Boss became McCarthy's third No. 1 film opening — Identity Thief did the same in 2013 and Spy topped the box office last year, too. In addition to those hits, McCarthy is starring in the new highly-anticipated Ghostbusters, due out in theaters this summer.
So it's clear: Audiences think McCarthy is a comedic genius, too.
