Justin Timberlake Promotes Inclusion During Song Of The Year Acceptance Speech At #iHeartAwards

Justin Timberlake took home one of the top honors at the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Sunday night (March 5) by scoring the first title of the evening and made sure to use his time at the podium to deliver a socially charged speech.

Two years after receiving the prestigious Innovator Award, the 36-year-old titan took to the podium to accept the title for "CAN'T STOP THE FEELING!" from presenter Jeremy Renner. Beating out the likes of Sia ("Cheap Thrills"), The Chainsmokers ("Closer"), Drake ("One Dance") and twenty one pilots ("Stressed Out"), JT was showered with love from nearby stars when leaving his seat to accept the silver trophy.

Love went on to serve as the theme of Justin's acceptance speech when he admitted the inspiration behind the record. "I just want to say that I wrote this because I wanted it to be about inclusion and about being together," he told The Forum audience, specifically directing his thoughts to the youth. 

"If you are black or you are brown or you are gay or lesbian or you are trans, or maybe you're just a sissy singing boy from Tennessee...anybody that is treating you unkindly, it's only because they are afraid or they have been taught to be afraid of how important you are. Because being different means you make the difference, so f**k em."

Just last week, Timberlake helped kick off the 89th annual Academy Awards with an energetic rendition of the feel-good track, which included a number of dancers, background vocalists and even a brief portion of Bill Withers' 1977 hit "Lovely Day."

Click here for more on our 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards, including an up-to-date list of winners and some of the biggest moments of the evening.

Photo: Chris Polk for iHeartRadio