Thursday night in Beverly Hills, Janet Jackson stepped out in front of a room full of dancers and famous faces. She was there to give one woman a very big award.
Janet is Michael Jackson’s youngest sister, and a huge star on her own. When she walks out to honor somebody, people pay attention.
The event was Dancers Against Cancer’s Gala of the Stars, held at The Beverly Hilton on Oct 22. The charity raises money to help dancers and their families who are going through cancer. Janet came to present the night’s Icon Award.
So who was getting it? A star who, as it turns out, already keeps a trophy at home with Michael’s name written right on it.
Here’s the clip of Janet walking out to present the award.
Janet Jackson presents the Icon Award at the Gala of the Stars
The woman getting the Icon Award was Missy Elliott. If you don’t know her by name, you know her sound. She’s one of the most famous rappers and producers in music, with a string of hits going back to the late 1990s.
And that trophy with Michael’s name? Back in 2019, Missy became the first female rapper ever to receive MTV’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. It’s the top honor MTV hands out, named after Michael himself, and it sits on her shelf next to everything else she’s won.
Watch her accept it, and you’ll hear the whole crowd on its feet.
Missy Elliott accepts MTV’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 2019
There’s a nice circle to the whole thing. Janet won this very same Icon Award last year, with the legendary Liza Minnelli handing it to her. This year Janet was the one doing the honors.
Noah Lands, the CEO of Dancers Against Cancer, put it plainly when the night was announced. “Missy Elliott represents everything the Icon Award celebrates. Her groundbreaking artistry has inspired generations of performers, and having Janet Jackson, last year’s honoree, present her with this award makes the moment even more special.”
Janet and Missy go back a ways too. They teamed up on “BURNITUP!”, a song from Janet’s 2015 album “Unbreakable.” So this wasn’t two strangers meeting on a stage. It was one friend handing another her flowers.
The night had other honorees as well. Toni Basil, the singer and choreographer behind “Mickey,” picked up a Lifetime Achievement honor, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy from “Dancing with the Stars” hosted the evening.
For one night, two of music’s biggest names stood together for a good cause. Give the clips a watch and see the moment for yourself.