- Title: Meryl Streep lambastes Trump in Golden Globes speech
- Date: 9th January 2017
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - NOVEMBER 09, 2016) (REUTERS) **** WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **** VARIOUS OF U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP AT ELECTION NIGHT RALLY
- Embargoed: 24th January 2017 06:05
- Keywords: Golden Globes Meryl Streep Donald Trump Hollywood awards Cecil B. DeMille
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK AND BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK AND BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA0045YCY5HJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Actress Meryl Streep turned a Golden Globe acceptance speech into a scathing attack on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, saying she had been heartbroken by his imitation of a disabled reporter during his campaign.
"There was one performance this year that stunned me," Streep, said as she was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award Sunday night.
"It sank its hooks in my heart. Not because it was good. It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter."
The three-time Oscar winner was referring to a 2015 incident at a South Carolina rally when Trump flailed his arms and slurred in his speech in an apparent mocking of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has a physical disability. Trump later denied that he was imitating the reporter.
"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 real life," Streep said.
"This instinct to humiliate when it's modeled by someone in the public platform by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody's life. Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence."
While Streep did not name Trump directly, she used almost the entire speech to criticize his behavior and policies, while calling for Hollywood to stand strong against any attacks and to support a free press through organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Streep earned a cheer from the crowd when she said that, "Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners."
"If you kick them all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not art," she said, as the audience cheered on.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, made a tough stance on immigration a cornerstone of his campaign. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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