Why Jack Black Got Emotional While Accepting MTV’s Comedic Genius Award (Exclusive)

The 'School of Rock' star was honored Sunday in Santa Monica.

Jack Black has been known as a comedic genius for quite some time, but now it's official! The actor was honored Sunday with the MTV Movie & TV Comedic Genius Award and his speech was equal parts hilarious and sentimental. 

As a nod to his iconic Kung Fu Panda role, Black somersaulted onto the stage in a full panda costume. “I don’t deserve this but I will take it,” Black said, prompting overwhelming applause from the crowd. 

The actor went on to jokingly question why he would be receiving the Comedic Genius award, "Are you kidding? For what? School of Rock, Jumanji, Kung Fu Panda, Goosebumps, Nacho Libre, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, my sweet dance moves on TikTok? What are we talking about? It’s ridiculous!” he said.

Then Black emotionally thanked his fans and family who got him to this point. “Thank you, MTV. This is for all the ‘School of Rock-ers’ out there, and for all the ‘Tenacious D-sciples’ and, most of all, my amazing wife Tanya [Haden] and our two incredible boys, I love you,” he said. 

Speaking to ET's Lauren Zima after giving his speech, Black explained his nerves going into the award show. “It feels the same as all performances of my life, cause even though it's not technically a performance, when you get out there in front of a crowd, in front of a TV camera, the pressure's on. I get terrified, I stress about it for days. Then, once I'm out there and I feel the roar of the crowd, I feel the flames licking my butt, I'm like, 'this is fun, I love it.'"

Black went on to explain why he got choked up while thanking his family. "I did," Black told ET. "I’m a clown that likes to throw down and mess around, but at the end of the day, I love my peeps, I love my family, that's what it's all about.”

Previous winners of the MTV Comedic Genius Award include Melissa McCarthy, Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen. 

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