For the second year running, the winner of the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss went to a same-sex pairing.
Love, Simon, the Greg Berlanti-helmed gay teen rom-com, and the first big-budget studio film of its kind to feature a gay leading man, nabbed the trophy for a memorable smooch between lead actor Nick Robinson and Keiynan Lonsdale.
Robinson wasn’t at the ceremony to accept the award, but Lonsdale delivered a touching speech (looking utterly fabulous, we might add).
Related: These tweets about ‘Love, Simon’ are going viral for all the right reasons
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He told the crowd:
“I just want to say to every kid: You can live your dreams and wear dresses; you can live your dreams and kiss the one that you love no matter what gender they are,” Keiynan told the crowd.
“You can live your dreams and you can believe in magic; you can live your dreams, and you can be yourself.”
Last year the award went to Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome for their performance in Best Picture Oscar-winner Moonlight.
Watch Lonsdale’s speech below:
Johndoes
Movie was pretty tame/boring.
Musk
Tell us, please, what would have made the movie less boring?
nitejonboy
Movie was great, but he looks a little moonflower hippieish in this outfit. I’d be scared if I saw him on tv!
Doctor Benway
It was a nive but boring movie. It’s would have been a great gay romcom 10 years ago. Now it’s just too harmless.
lauraspencer
With all the visibility on TV and in film now, LOVE SIMON felt unnecessary. Berlanti’s BROKEN HEARTS CLUB back in 1998 was needed. LOVE SIMON was so 10 years ago.
mujerado
Not every movie has to be some kind of advance. Sometimes you just want a fun, pleasant movie without any axes to grind or causes to push. Younger people just don’t understand what gay people have been through in the past. Some of us who’ve been activist for 40 or 50 years find it rewarding and welcome that a movie with a gay protagonist doesn’t ruffle any feathers.
Donston
I just thought the movie was basic and drab. Not particularly clever or romantic and with relatively bland characterization.
GayEGO
This movie reminded me of some of my experiences in school back in the 1950s when society thought we were dangerous deviates. Today, it is a different time with marriage equality the law of the land!