Janet Jackson in no mood to joke

By Cindy Locke Jun 20, 2005, 19:23 GMT

Janet Jackson was honored Saturday night for the millions of dollars she has raised and donated for humanitarian causes such as the American Foundation for AIDS Research, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. 

In her first public appearance since her brother Michael’s acquittal, Jackson accepted the humanitarian award after an introduction from actor Alan Cumming in which he joked that Jackson was never one for controversy.  Jackson apologized to the crowd for not being in a funny mood. 

"My family and I have just gone through the least humorous chapter of our lives.  I'm going to leave the jokes to the late-night (comics), if that's OK."

She continued by saying, "What I've learned in these recent months is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's real, it's a beautiful light that both comforts our minds and strengthens our souls. Tonight my heart is filled with gratitude for that light. I'm so grateful that prayers are answered, that faith is rewarded and tolerance is celebrated as a virtue. I'm grateful that God is of unconditional love."

She received a standing ovation from the hundreds of contributors who were in the Beverly Hilton Hotel ballroom.

She said, "Acceptance is right. Kindness is right. Love is right. I pray, right now, that we're moving into a kinder time when prejudice is overcome by understanding; when narrow-mindedness and narrow-minded bigotry is overwhelmed by open-hearted empathy; when the pain of judgmentalism is replaced by the purity of love."