Adam Sandler’s Daughters Wrote His Hilarious Acceptance Speech

By Mark McKee | Published

adam sandler

Adam Sandler is one of the most famous and prolific comedians of all time, having appeared in movies for the better part of the last four decades. While accepting the Lifetime Tribute Award at the 2022 Gotham Awards, the comedian found his funny bone again as he had the crowd roaring through an acceptance speech. According to Page Six, it was an acceptance speech written by his very own daughters, who may have funny bones of their own. 

The speech poked fun at Adam Sandler and his filmography, which hit the big time with films like Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, making him a box office behemoth instead of a Saturday Night Live regular. One of his most notable films, Big Daddy, was joked about as the film that paid for his house, his daughter’s grandparent’s house, Rob Schneider’s house, his braces, and his daughter’s braces. 

The daughter’s rip-roaring roasting speech also expressed remorse for not being able to make it to the awards ceremony and regretted not being able to look at or grope Timothée Chalamet. Of course, in the joke, they played on Adam Sandler’s opportunity to enjoy his evening without having the spotlight taken from him by his newly-pubescent offspring. Sandler delivered his speech in his signature ridiculous southern voice that he uses for all speeches (as instructed by his speechwriters) but dropped it at the end to express gratitude.

Two years ago, Adam Sandler hit his career apex with a film called Uncut Gems, which took him away from his usual comedy following a loser with a hidden heart of gold and brought his ability actually to bring depth to his characters. When he won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Leading Actor, he got the same southern accent (which sounds instantly familiar as his The Waterboy character, Bobby Boucher). He also dropped one of the most epic lines in awards speech history when he called his fellow nominees those who will forever be known as the people who lost to Adam Sandler. 

It’s almost impossible to argue with the idea of giving an award for lifetime contributions to the comedian, given that some of the greatest comedies of all time. He may have started as a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1990-1995 and released comedy albums, but he really gained prominence when he moved to the big screen. His first successful films were Billy MadisonHappy GilmoreThe Wedding Singer, and The Waterboy between 1995 and 1998. 

While he continued with hits throughout the 2000s, like  Big Daddy (1999), Mr. Deeds (2002), 50 First Dates (2004), The Longest Yard (2005), Click (2006), Grown Ups (2010), his films since haven’t been as well received. In the last decade, Adam Sandler got most of his praise as the voice of Dracula in the Hotel Transylvania animated franchise and his dramatic performance in Netflix’s Uncut Gems.

While he may not be getting the same recognition on screen as he did in the past, he hasn’t lost his flair for comedy, and his daughters seem to have gotten the trait.