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Actress Meryl Streep Calls Out Trump At Golden Globes, Trump Fires Back, Calls Her ‘Overrated’ And A ‘Hillary Flunky’[Video]

By Tito Ojo-Medubi
Published on: 05:03 PST, Jan 9, 2017

Meryl Streep called out Donald Trump at the Golden Globes for allegedly mocking a disabled New York Times reporter. The 67-year-old actress, who accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award Sunday, had little to say about her career that has spanned over 50 years. According to the Guardian, the Devil Wear Prada actress, preferred to spend the minutes allotted to her on the looming political climate under the president-elect, who she refused to call by name.

Streep said the behavior of the 70-year-old Republican reportedly mocking Serge Kovaleski, who has a limited function of his joints, was shocking considering he was billed to be the next president of the United States of America.

“There was one performance this year that stunned me … it was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter. Someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back … I still can’t get it out of my head because it wasn’t in a movie. It was real life … when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform … it filters down into everybody’s life … it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing.”

Streep was referring to the billionaire businessman’s claim that he saw “thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the 9/11 attacks. Kovaleski, who was working for the Washington Post at the time, had disputed what he said. Trump had derided the reporter, flailing and twisting his arms in the process, allegedly mimicking his condition. However, Trump denied ever mocking the reporter and demanded an apology from the New York Times, who had accused him of ridiculing Kovaleski.

When Meryl Streep brought up the issue again at the 17th edition of the Golden Globes, most people roundly applauded her remarks. But, some Trump allies like Sean Hannity scoffed her decision to bring politics to a high-profile Hollywood event. The Get Ready for Ricki actress queried Trump’s competence as president, adding that when the powerful abused their position of power, it caused a ripple effect that eventually affected everyone.

“Disrespect invites disrespect, violence invites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose.”

President-elect Trump reacted to Streep’s comments in a barrage of tweets Monday. According to the New York Times, the billionaire again flatly denied mocking the disabled reporter and dismissed the 67-year-old actress as a “Hillary lover.” He added that he was not surprised at the criticisms coming from “liberal movie people.”

In another tweet, he called the three-time Academy Award winner “one of the most-over-rated actresses in Hollywood” as well as a “Hillary flunky who lost big.” Trump argued that despite the 67-year-old’s comments, celebrities were still billed to show up en-masse at his inauguration, adding that all dress shops in Washington had sold all their clothes.

“We are going to have an unbelievable, perhaps record-setting turnout for the inauguration, and there will be plenty of movie and entertainment stars. All the dress shops are sold out in Washington. It’s hard to find a great dress for this inauguration.”

Streep, who has been nominated for a record 19 Oscars as well as a record 30 Golden Globes during her expansive career, earned a standing ovation from the audience after her speech. The actress was nominated for her portrayal as a terrible opera singer in Florence Foster Jenkins, despite her lifetime achievement award.

Meryl Streep talked about Natalie Portman, who was born in Jerusalem, and Amy Adams, who was born in Italy. She referred to Canadian Ryan Gosling, who won big with La La Land. She also talked about Dev Batel, who was born in Kenya, and Ruth Negga, who was born in Addis Ababa. Streep said all the nominees reflected the diversity that made America a great country, warning there would be problems if supposed outsiders were told to return to their country.

“Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners and if you kick them all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.”

The Postcards from the Edge actress was not the only one to address Trump at the awards. Viola Davis, who bagged best supporting actress for her role in Fences, also talked about the future president, backstage and what the November elections underlined about America.

“I think that America in and of itself has been an affirmation, but I think that we’ve fallen short a lot because there is no way that we can have anyone in office that is not an extension of our own belief system. So what does that say about us? I think that if you answer that question I think that says it all.”

[Featured Image by Jordan Strauss/AP Images]

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