Last night Meryl Streep gave a powerful speech at the Golden Globes in which she called out Donald Trump and said that he and Hollywood must be held accountable.
At tonight's #GoldenGlobes we honor Hollywood legend Meryl Streep with the prestigious Cecil B. Demille Award.
She began the speech by saying that most of Hollywood consists of "outsiders and foreigners", before referencing numerous actors who came from places other than Hollywood. She said: "If you kick them all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts."
She also mentioned an incident from earlier in the year in which Trump appeared to mock a disabled reporter, labelling it "disrespectful" and an act of "bullying".
She said:
There was one performance this year that stunned me. It sank its hooks in my heart — not because it was good. There was nothing good about it. But it was effective and it did its job. It made its intended audience laugh and show their teeth. 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. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it. I still 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. Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.
And it didn't take long for Hollywood to spring into action, praising Streep for the speech.
There has never been anyone like Meryl Streep. I love her. #GoldenGlobes
Um Meryl didn't give a fuck about that speech limit, they DID NOT play the music on her either. Serve that tea girl, put some lemon in it
She has never been more graceful than tonight, nearly w/out voice, her voice has never been so strong. TY Meryl Streep. #GoldenGlobes
However, Donald Trump has now responded to the speech. He said he hasn't watched it, but is "not surprised" to have come under fire from "liberal movie people".
He went on to say that he had never intended to mock the reporter in question. Speaking to the New York Times, Trump said:
I was never mocking anyone. I was calling into question a reporter who had gotten nervous because he had changed his story. People keep saying I intended to mock the reporter's disability, as if Meryl Streep and others could read my mind, and I did no such thing.
Trump also appeared to dismiss Streep's comments because of her support of Hillary Clinton.
He said:
And remember, Meryl Streep introduced Hillary Clinton at her convention, and a lot of these people supported Hillary.
He concluded by saying that he's expecting a "record turnout" for his inauguration next week.
Trump said:
We are going to have an unbelievable, perhaps record-setting turnout for the inauguration, and there will be plenty of movie and entertainments stars. All the dress shops are sold out in Washington. It's hard to find a great dress for this inauguration.
Trump has also taken to Twitter to air his views on Streep, calling her "one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood".
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.....
He called her a "Hillary flunky" and denied he mocked the disabled reporter.
Hillary flunky who lost big. For the 100th time, I never "mocked" a disabled reporter (would never do that) but simply showed him.......
Before saying that the media is "dishonest".
"groveling" when he totally changed a 16 year old story that he had written in order to make me look bad. Just more very dishonest media!