Gloria Carter, JAY-Z’s mother, accepts the GLAAD Special Recognition award

Gloria Carter accepted the GLAAD Special Recognition award for her appearance on JAY-Z's track "Smile" from the album 4:44. During her acceptance speech for the award, she thanked God, as well as her son. JAY-Z recalled the conversation with his mother telling JAY that she was in a relationship with a woman. He cried tears of joy upon finding out. In her speech, she also thanked her partner, who was present at the ceremony.

“Love gave me the courage to take the power that I allowed other people to have over my life for fear of revealing my secret, that wasn’t really a secret,” she said. You can watch the full speech above.