In the latest highly politicized Hollywood event, last night's Golden Globes took aim squarely at Donald Trump, when Actress Meryl Streep delivered an emotional speech railing against President-elect Donald Trump, without actually mentioning him by name. while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 74th annual Golden Globes on Sunday. The actress referred to the time Trump imitated a disabled New York Times reporter on the campaign trail, and said that particular, real-life performance broke her heart.
“But 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 did its job," Streep said of Trump's imitation of reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has a congenital condition affecting the joints. "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 out-ranked in privilege, power, and the capacity to fight back," she continued. "It kind of broke my heart when I saw it, and I still can’t get it out of my head because it wasn’t in a movie; it was in real life.”
“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. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose,” Streep said.
She then called on the media to use its agency to hold powerful people accountable.
"We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call them on the carpet for every outrage," Streep said. "That’s why our founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in our Constitution. So I only ask the famously well-heeled Hollywood foreign press and all of us in our community to join us in supporting the Committee to Protect Journalists, and we’re going to need us going forward and they’ll need us to safeguard the truth."
Streep's comments echoed actor Hugh Laurie, who earlier in the night joked there would be no more Golden Globes if Trump has his way. “You and all of us in this room belong to the most vilified segments of society right now. Think about it: Hollywood, foreigners and the press,” Streep said. She proceeded to mention several actors in the room who were born outside the United States.
“Hollywood is crawling with foreigners and if we kick them all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and the mixed martial arts — which are not the arts,” Streep said.
Streep’s speech ended with a standing ovation — the first of the night, according to reports on Twitter.
This, predictably...
How long before @realDonaldTrump tweets that Meryl Streep is overrated?
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) January 9, 2017
... drew an outburst from Trump this morning, who tweeted that Streep is an “overrated” actress and a “Hillary [Clinton] flunky who lost big.” Trump also repeated his assertion, "for the 100th time," that he never “mocked” a disabled reporter on the campaign trail.
"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 Hillary flunky who lost big. For the 100th time, I never "mocked" a disabled reporter (would never do that) but simply showed him 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!"
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
Hillary flunky who lost big. For the 100th time, I never "mocked" a disabled reporter (would never do that) but simply showed him.......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017
"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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017
Trump's reaction has quickly led to impassioned responses from various Twitter sources that Trump is again making up reality.
This is false. The evidence doesn't lie. https://t.co/3ap8xzhoo3 https://t.co/56zs587MQY
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) January 9, 2017
Trump's vendetta with members of the press, and certainly Hollywood celebrities, appears to only be escalating, and certainly is nowhere near any possible resolution.