Martin Lawrence received his flowers for a distinguished career with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Fellow actor-comedians Steve Harvey and Tracy Morgan, and actress Lynn Whitfield paid tribute to their colleague during a series of emotional speeches at Thursday’s ceremony (Apr. 20).
Whitfield heaped praise on her A Thin Line Between Love and Hate co-star, crediting him with presenting Black people “as we know ourselves.” She also declared Martin Lawrence “changed the fabric of American culture.”
Huge congrats to Martin Lawrence for receiving his Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame!!! I literally just watched “A Thin Line Between Love & Hate” last night. To see The Beautiful Lynn Whitfield Honor his career & their friendship 27 years later is Incredible! Well Deserved! ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/jU00P79pld
— Brandon J (@BrandonJSings) April 21, 2023
During his acceptance speech, the Bad Boys and Martin star paid homage to his late mother and his “three beautiful daughters as he received the coveted award. He also thanked the cast and Martin cast and crew, “especially Tisha, Tichina, Carl, and Tommie. We made a great team, and a true testament to teamwork makes the dream work,” he added.
As he closed his speech, Martin Lawrence thanked his fans for supporting him “Without wavering.” He shared his honor at having a flourishing career despite persevering “through many adversities.”
“And here I still stand,’ he said before passing on some gems to the next generation of Hollywood stars.
“Board your dream bus with confidence, grace, and humility and ride it ‘til the wheels fall off. Let the doubters Runteldat,” he quipped, in reference to his 2002 stand-up comedy special. Check out some clips and watch the ceremony at here.
Martin Lawrence has received a much-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today!! pic.twitter.com/8AF7J8fBk8
— Blex (@blex_media) April 20, 2023
During an interview after the Walk of Fame ceremony, Martin Lawrence teased that the upcoming Bad Boys 4 movie could be the biggest and best of the franchise.
“It has the chance to be the best one of them all and everybody’s doing their thing. We got a lot of the team back from the last one,” he explained to Entertainment Tonight. “Big Willie’s doing his thing as always and so focused and, yeah, it has the chance to be the biggest one.”