Award Winners of the 2020 E! People’s Choice Awards Spread Messages of Positivity and Personal Responsibility to Fans.
Just like previous award shows during COVID-19, the E! People’s Choice Awards winners were met with the bizarre experience of accepting their award in an empty arena. The event was held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and was hosted by pop sensation, Demi Lovato. Rather than a live audience, the production represented its “superfans” by showing viewers from across the country on hundreds of live screens. These fans also took part in revealing the winners of each award. Lovato took the stage with a note on how this award show was voted on by fans (as implied by the name ‘People’s Choice Awards’). She joked "don't worry, we made sure to count every vote in Pennsylvania first." to take a jab at the 2020 presidential election.
The first winner of the night was Tiffany Haddish, who won Female Movie Star of the Year for her performance in Like A Boss. In her speech, she stressed the importance of loving oneself and gave a shoutout to those that have struggled mentally this year and the people in Africa who have struggled.
Mandy Moore also won an award early in the night, recognizing her husband and their son whom they are expecting. Moore continued her speech to encourage people to wear their masks and be safe during the pandemic. She is not the only one to advocate for personal responsibility in her speech, as Modern Family star Sofia Vergara also made a point to encourage mask-wearing “even though it’s hot.”
Ellen Pompeo and Jennifer Lopez both gave inspiring speeches on how this year has pushed our limits and what we can learn from these hard times. Pompeo stated “[people] respond to the idea of love, they respond to the idea of acceptance, they respond to the idea of us pulling one another up. ... 2020 has tested that time and time again and also proven that when we do that, when we look out for each other, when we pull each other up, anything is possible.”
Jennifer Lopez gave off a similar message of how 2020 has served as an important lesson. She stated, “This year was a great leveler....It showed us what mattered and what didn't, and for me it reinforced what matters the most: people. All of us. Together. Helping each other. Loving each other. Being kind to each other.” Lopez’s children also dropped into her speech, making the moment even more heartwarming for viewers.
As many of these stars have noted, this past year has been cause for many struggles, mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially. However, as many awardees emphasized, 2020 has also taught us that love and care for others is what truly matters most. While we hope that these last few months of the year bring us only joy, the People’s Choice Awards has shown that coming together and having mutual care for others is the best way to overcome these challenges.
