Blake Lively won herself a People's Choice Award on Wednesday night for her performance in The Shallows, and she used her platform to send a (lowkey but still *highly* relevant) message: that women are worthy of attention, and girl power is realer than ever.
After revealing that her mom always said she should never to let *anyone* limit her, Lively explained that she set a goal for herself as a kid...to meet the Spice Girls. (Same.)
"What was so neat about them is that they were all so distinctly different," the 29-year-old actress explained. "And they were women, and they owned who they were. And that was my first introduction into girl power.... When you guys voted for this, you didn't just vote for women or me, but you voted for girl power. So thank you! Thank you! It's true! And men voted for girl power too, and you guys are awesome for doing that. So thank you for sending a message to Hollywood—that people want to hear stories about women."
Lively ended her speech by encouraging viewers to share their own stories, saying "now more than ever you need to be heard, you are valuable, and no one can limit you."
Preach, Blake Lively. Preach.
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