Sandra Bullock made her first public appearance since her highly publicized split with Jesse James Saturday, accepting "Troops Choice" Award for Entertainer of the Year at Spike TV's Guys Choice Awards in Los Angeles.
"Let's be honest here, just for a moment. We're all going to be honest, right?" she began. "Did I win this for being entertainer of the year, or did I win this because of the spectacular I.E.D. [improvised explosive device] explosion that became my personal life?"
The crowd cracked up.
"No, it's OK," Bullock, 46 (in Elie Saab), then went on. "Because I would do it over again if it was to entertain our troops , and our extraordinary troops deserve something much more than some actress in a tight dress talking herself."
Then, looking at the troops, she said: "I would sing but you've seen enough pain in your lifetime. I would dance, I'm a pretty good dancer, but as I mentioned the dress is a little tight. God, you guys are so good at being serious, I love it. So I would like to do something I've always wanted to do in person which is to thank you. To thank all the men and women that make it possible for me to wake up in the morning free, able to speak freely, to think freely, to make choices freely and to go to sleep safely. And it's because you've made this your life's mission without judging, without saying I'm not going to go to work because you don't believe what I believe, you just do it because it is the right thing for you to do and I thank you so much. So having a dad that is a veteran, I see the sacrifices he made for his country and I'm so lucky every day to wake up having what I have and I thank you guys for that and I thank you guys for this. Thank you so much.”
Bullock, 46, is set to accept the "Generation Award" Sunday night at the MTV Movie Awards.