Meryl Streep Blasts Donald Trump and Supports Journalists at 2017 Golden Globes
Posted on January 8, 2017
Meryl Streep won and accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2017 Golden Globes. She blasted Donald Trump during her acceptance speech. Streep was a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton during the campaign.
Streep did not mention Trump by name but attacked him for an incident where he appears to be mocking reporter Serge Kovaleski, who suffers from arthrogryposis. Trump has denied this is what he was doing.
In her speech Streep says, "It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disable reporter, someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it, and I can't get it out of my head, because it wasn't in a movie. It was real life. And this instinct, to humiliate, when it's modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody's life, because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing."
She also explained why we need the press. She says, "Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose. We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call him on the carpet for every outrage."
Here is Meryl Streep's speech. The section quoted above begins around the 3 minute mark.
At tonight's #GoldenGlobes we honor Hollywood legend Meryl Streep with the prestigious Cecil B. Demille Award. pic.twitter.com/dxpeCDNXY6
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 9, 2017
Update: Trump has responded to Meryl Streep's speech calling her "one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood." He also says she is a "Hillary flunky." Trump also says he was not mocking the disabled reporter. He says in a series of three tweets that he was showing the reporter "groveling."
Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. She is a.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017