Beautiful, moving and inspirational! Those are the most common words being used by celebs and sports stars as they react to Caitlyn Jenner's emotional acceptance speech at Wednesday, July 15's 2015 ESPYS, where she was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
Laverne Cox led the online reaction to Jenner's much anticipated award speech, calling it a "historic moment" for the transgender community, and thanking the former Olympic athlete for being so eloquent.
Kylie Jenner (who joined nearly all of her brothers and sisters to support her dad at Los Angeles' Microsoft Theater for the big night), also took to social media to express her emotions.
"Mine and Kendall's little tears of joy lol," the 17-year-old reality TV star wrote after Caitlyn's on-stage appearance. "I love my dad."
Caitlyn was visibly moved by the experience of accepting the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, wiping tears from her eyes as she addressed the crowd.
"I know the people in this room have respect for hard work. For training," she said. "I trained hard, I competed hard, and for that, people respected me. This transition has been harder on me than anything I could've ever imagined… Trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect. And from that respect comes a more compassionate community, and a better world for all of us."
Her impassioned plea was well received by all facets of the celebrity community. Take a look below to see how stars including Russell Simmons, Questlove, Rosie Perez, and Lily Aldridge reacted in the hours after the TV show was broadcast:
Just caught @Caitlyn_Jenner's speech at the #ESPYS. So deeply moved. I feel like an historic moment happened for my community tonight. Thanx
— Laverne Cox (@Lavernecox) July 16, 2015
Respect to @Caitlyn_Jenner. Beautiful, moving, inspiring speech tonight at the #Espys. We are a better people because of your courage.
— IG: @UncleRUSH (@UncleRUSH) July 16, 2015
Wow! Congratulations @Caitlyn_Jenner. Your best victory yet. Beautifully done. #Courage #Acceptance #LoveWins #LGBT @ESPYS @ABCNetwork @espn
— Rosie Perez (@rosieperezbklyn) July 16, 2015
Thks @Caitlyn_Jenner 4 "inviting us in". U didn't come out. Our shero was always there. The world wasn't safe. Ur helping change that #ESPYS
— Wade Davis II (@Wade_Davis28) July 16, 2015
#ESPYS I don't care what you think of Caitlyn Jenner, you must admit she did a great job tonight on ESPYs.
— Joan Lunden (@JoanLunden) July 16, 2015
Just blown away by @Caitlyn_Jenner and her powerful speech at the #ESPYS What a women, what a hero. #bethechange
— Ty Pennington (@typennington) July 16, 2015
Mine and Kendall's little tears of joy lol. I love my dad.
— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) July 16, 2015
