Meryl Streep slams Donald Trump in speech at Golden Globes

Accepting a lifetime acheivement award at the Golden Globes on Sunday night, Meryl Streep attacked President-elect Donald Trump for his criticisms of foreigners and the media in a speech that thrilled social media.

Speaking with a hoarse voice she said was the result of “screaming in lamentation this weekend,” and fighting back tears at some points, Streep began to read from a prepared statement, then appeared to go off-script, referencing an earlier joke in the evening by fellow star Hugh Laurie.

Laurie had previously said “Hollywood,” “foreign” and “press” are all pejorative words for Trump and his supporters. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association awards the Golden Globes. Streep then proceeded to speak about all three words, listing off the backgrounds and hometowns of various actors in attendance.

“So Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if we kick them all out, you’ll have nothing left to watch but football and mixed martial arts,” Streep said.

Streep then slammed Trump for his imitation of a disabled reporter during the campaign.

“There was one performance this year that stunned me,” Streep said. “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 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 proceeded to argue that Trump’s behavior gave “permission” to other people to act the same way.

“Disrespect invites disrespect,” Streep said. “Violence incites violence.”

Streep then called for the freedom of the press to be preserved and asked her fellow stars to to aid the Committee to Protect Journalists moving forward.

Streep closed her speech by quoting the recently deceased actor Carrie Fisher.

“Take your broken heart, make it art,” she said.

On social media, Streep’s speech invited glowing praise from some, while others criticized her for bringing politics into entertainment.

This story was originally published January 8, 2017 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Meryl Streep slams Donald Trump in speech at Golden Globes."