At Teen Choice Awards, Alba calls for end to gun violence

LOS ANGELES — The boisterous revelry of the Teen Choice Awards momentarily took on a somber tone Sunday when Jessica Alba called for an end to gun violence with a group of teenagers.

The actress was joined onstage at the fan-favorite ceremony by a group of teens related to the victims of shootings in such places as San Bernardino, Calif.; Newtown, Conn.; and Orlando, Fla. She asked viewers to tweet the hashtag #StopTheViolence.

“It keeps happening, and it has to stop,” Alba said.

It was otherwise business as usual at the Teen Choice Awards as co-hosts John Cena and Victoria Justice engaged in goofy stunts and helped hand out surfboard-shaped trophies in categories honoring film, TV, music and social media.

Justin Timberlake was bestowed with the ceremony’s version of a lifetime achievement award. The singer-actor used his moment in the spotlight to honor late boxer Muhammad Ali and impart wisdom to the young crowd gathered at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

“As a relatively new dad and a former teen, I am here to say you will make mistakes along the way,” he said. “You will fall down. I have many times — even Ali did.”

The fan-favorite ceremony kicked off with Cena and Justice respectively dressed as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The gender-bending bit wasn’t just for laughs. The pair encouraged teens to register to vote.

Other silly stunts included the wrestler-actor and singer-actress engaging in a 30-second selfie challenge, as well as Justice and Laverne Cox, her co-star in a remake of “The Rocky Horror Picture,” squirting Cena with water bottles.

This year’s winners included social media star Cameron Dallas, “Captain America” star Chris Evans, “Pretty Little Liars,” “Teen Wolf,” Grant Gustin, Chloe Grace Moretz and the Dolan twins.

The two-hour ceremony included performances by “Empire” actress Serayah, Charlie Puth, Flo Rida and Bebe Rexha.