Christina Aguilera Cries During Moving Award Speech On Domestic Violence
By Lindsey Smith
October 9, 2019
Earlier this month, Christina Aguilera was honored with the Deacon Bonnie Polley Community Hero Award at The Shade Tree Of Las Vegas' Masks off Gala for her work in domestic violence awareness and advocacy and her partnership with The Shade Tree — an organization which provides shelter to abused and homeless women and women with children in crisis.
On Tuesday (October 8), the “Fighter” singer posted videos of her speech at the gala to her Instagram.
As you'll see in the footage, the 38-year-old singer gets emotional while bravely and candidly recounting her own experiences with domestic violence and begins to break down crying. “It's disgusting and it happens far too much to people that we do love. It is very dear to my heart because I am a survivor of it, as I'm sure many of you are and are affected by it,” she said through tears. “I'm truly grateful for all of you who really take the time to understand the people that come through the door.”
As well as explaining in her speech, Aguilera wrote about her own experience with domestic violence and why the charity means so much to her: “I remember often having to up and escape in the middle of the night with my mom & little sister, having just the clothes on our backs, to drive cross country for shelter at my grandma’s house.”
She also added valuable resources to those in need of help: “We need to use our voices to speak up, reach out and help one another break these deep rooted cycles and empower each other to end these patterns. . If you or someone you know is suffering from abuse, you can call 1-800-799-7233 and go to the @ndvhofficial #NationalDomesticHotline https://www.thehotline.org.”
Photo: Getty Images