Just days after publishing an op-ed piece in the New York
Times about her decision to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as
measure to prevent cancer, and not even two weeks after having that operation,
Angelina Jolie was in fine form at the Kids' Choice Awards on Saturday night. She celebrated the raucous event with children Zahara and
Shiloh John at her side, and then delivered an inspiring speech while accepting
the Favorite Villain award.
"I want to say that when I was little, like Maleficent, I was
told that I was different," she said. "And I felt out of place — too
loud, too full of fire, never good at sitting still, never good at fitting in.
And then one day I realized something—something that I hope you all realize.
Different is good. So don't fit in, don't sit still, don't ever try to be less
than what you are, and when someone tells you that you are different, smile and
hold your head up and be proud. And as your villain, I will also say, cause a
little trouble. It's good for you."
Of all the speeches the special envoy of the United Nations High
Commission on Human Rights has given, this one might be one of her best.
Particularly with her adopted daughter and her child who has decided to be
called John, these words sum up everything we've always thought the actress/director has stood for, in a way even kids can grasp. Jolie herself has been dogged by
rumors of difficult, "diva" behavior — the kind that plague almost
any women in power. If we were in her shoes, we'd be wishing we could dump that
Nickelodeon slime over a few more people. But Angie is a little better than us.
She's just going to smile and hug her babies.