Entertainment Movies Lady Gaga Cries During Halle Berry's Inspiring Critics Choice Awards Speech About Female Empowerment "I am so grateful to be standing and living in this moment where women are standing up and we are telling our own stories," Halle Berry said during her speech By Charmaine Patterson Charmaine Patterson Digital News Writer, PEOPLE People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 13, 2022 09:27 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: The CW Lady Gaga became emotional during Halle Berry's speech at the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards. The 35-year-old House of Gucci star was seen crying as Berry, 55, delivered the motivating message while receiving the SeeHer Award Sunday, calling for more women to tell women's stories. Insecure star Issa Rae presented the honor to Berry, who began her speech by explaining that her role in Netflix's Bruised wasn't originally written for someone "who looked like me." Still, she wound up tailoring the role to herself and taking on the project as director. "[Storytelling] can raise our consciousness and help us think outside of ourselves and our individual circumstances," Berry said upon receiving the honor. "I realized that we truly need to see each other's reality — no matter how uncomfortable it makes us — so that we can stop judging and stop pointing fingers, but rather find compassion and empathy for the others." Halle Berry Pays Tribute to Women in Hollywood 'Telling Our Own Stories' at Critics Choice Awards "I've been in the business for 30 years, and I used to think that if I could play the part of a white man, then I was winning. But you know what, wanna know why that didn't work? Because, if you didn't know, I'm not a white man," Berry said as she laughed. "So, for those roles to work, they would have to be substantially changed. It would have to be written with the reality of my journey, in all of its beauty and all of its pain." For more on Halle Berry, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day. Continued Berry, "This is why I am so grateful to be standing and living in this moment where women are standing up and we are telling our own stories." RELATED: Halle Berry Honored for 30-Year Career Giving Her 'So Many Moments' She Is Proud Of "We will use our emotional intelligence and we will tell stories that don't fit preconceived notions. No, we will tell stories that see us fully in all our multitudes and contradictions. Because we are confident and we are scared. We are vulnerable and we are strong. ... We are everything and all of that and all at the same time!" Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "If we deny our complexities, then we deny our humanity. We won't always be pretty, and we will never be perfect, but what we will be is always honest and true — no matter how uncomfortable that makes you. These are the stories we have to fight to tell, and these are the stories that the world needs to see. So, to every little girl who feels unseen and unheard, this is our way of saying to you: We love you and we see you, and you deserve every good thing in this world." Lady Gaga Dares to Bare at the 2022 Critics Choice Awards, Attends with Boyfriend Michael Polansky Gaga's emotions during Berry's speech serve as her latest touching moment this award season. Last month, she cried as she hugged legendary English actress Helen Mirren, 76, at the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild awards. In between commercial breaks, the actresses were seen chatting with each other and sharing a long embrace. Seemingly overjoyed to be meeting the Golda star, Gaga cried in her arms as Mirren comforted the Grammy Award-winning singer and wiped tears from her eyes. The 27th annual Critics' Choice Awards are airing on The CW and TBS.