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Halle Berry, Pink get kudos for kindness


BEVERLY HILLS — Queen Latifah called her "the remarkable" Halle Berry.

She's remarkable for her work over the past 14 years with South Los Angeles' Jenesse Center, offering a safe place for families coping with domestic violence to heal.

"I'm here to tell you: I'm so proud of you, sister," said Latifah, handing her the Creative Conscience award at Thursday's Unite4:humanity gala.

Berry got a little bit emotional talking about the cause that she cares so deeply about — domestic violence.

She said it's a "hard" topic.

"So many people think, 'Shoot, she should get up and go. Why does she sit there and take that?' They don't really understand what keeps a woman in that situation.

"And I do. I'm a victim of domestic violence."

Berry said, "I wasn't married to a man that beat me up, but my mother was. Watching my mother get beat up day after day after day. Watching my mother get kicked downstairs. Watching my mother get stitches in the back of her head because she was hit with a wine bottle when she wasn't looking. Listening to my mother cry and feeling her pain day after day, knowing she wanted nothing more than to see her little girls see her be empowered and be a woman of strength but having no way to make that happen was heartbreaking for me. And I was only 5 years old, but I knew it was wrong. I had empathy and compassion for my mother."

The organization is her "heart and soul," she said. "I'm committed."

Others getting awards:

Josh Hutcherson: Young Humanitarian award

Aaron Paul and his wife, Lauren Paul: Unite2gether award

Pink, who also performed: Music Visionary award

"There's a lot of talk in the world and not a lot of do," she said.

Ewan McGregor: International Humanitarian award

Christina Applegate: Saint Vintage Love Cures award

"I don't want to live in a world where I have to talk about cancer anymore," said Applegate. "As much as I love meeting new women, I don't want to anymore — women with cancer, I mean!"

Zendaya: Young Luminary award

"There's no age limit in being able to help people," said Zendaya, 18.