Jonathan Majors received a standing ovation after his 17-minute long speech after accepting the Perseverance Award at Jason Lee's annual Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards, held Friday night (June 21) in Beverly Hills.

Majors, who attended the event with girlfriend Megan Good, received the award from Iyanla Vanzant, who embraced him into her bosom when he walked on stage. “I reckon folks want to know about the last year,” Majors said.

Majors spoke about his shortcomings and imperfections.

“I’m imperfect. I have shortcomings — I acknowledge them,” he said. Majors recounted the difficult year he had after being convicted of domestic assault and harassment eight months ago.

“Perseverance means what?” he said. “Perseverance means persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay. And the God I serve has put me in a position where I’ve had to embody that word more than I wished or wanted.”

Majors was recently sentenced to probation following his conviction for assaulting his ex-girlfriend. A Manhattan jury found him guilty of misdemeanor assault in December after an incident in March 2023, where Majors was accused of attacking Grace Jabbari in the backseat of a car. Majors denied the allegations, asserting that Jabbari was the aggressor.

Although he could have been jailed for a year, the judge opted for a conditional discharge. This requires Majors to complete a 52-week, in-person batterer’s intervention program in Los Angeles and continue his mental health therapy. Additionally, he must abide by a no-contact order with Jabbari. While Majors plans to appeal the conviction, he intends to comply with the court's mandates.​

Majors spoke about how the conviction affected him as a Black man.

 “We live in a world where men, Black men in particular, are propped up as either superheroes or supervillains. But I’ve come to realize, me, personally, I ain’t none of that. I’m just that guy whose faith has been tested. It has been strengthened by this testimony.”

Throughout his speech, Majors cried and, at one point, even noted that snot was coming out of his nose. At that point, Vanzant came back to the podium and wiped his face.

Majors closed out his speech by saying, “I receive this award not just as an acknowledgment that I have persevered, but as a command to be there for others and help them when and if their trials come. Perseverance rests on the shoulders of many; I command myself to be shoulders to our community, to my queen, to our industry, to our culture. And just to Ella, my baby girl, we’re gonna be alright, your father loves you. I love y’all, I thank you for this. To be in this room with these great entertainers, these great Black artists, woo. Ain’t no place like home.”