Reactions To Meryl Streep's Anti-Trump Speech | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics

Reactions To Meryl Streep's Anti-Trump Speech

There are still some in Hollywood who are on the outside looking in.

22
Reactions To Meryl Streep's Anti-Trump Speech

Not Everyone Is Bowing Down to Meryl Streep.

Incase you missed it the other night, Meryl Streep went on a diatribe against President-elect Donald Trump while receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. *Gasp*

Of course, Streep was so courageous and brave to come out and make a speech to a room, and a community, that with few exceptions, is of the same mind. Since when is reiterating a Buzzfeed article brave?

She said,

“Thank you, Hollywood Foreign Press. Just to pick up on what Hugh Laurie said: You and all of us in this room really belong to the most vilified segments in American society right now.
Think about it: Hollywood, foreigners and the press.
But who are we, and what is Hollywood anyway? It’s just a bunch of people from other places. I was born and raised and educated in the public schools of New Jersey. Viola was born in a sharecropper’s cabin in South Carolina, came up in Central Falls, Rhode Island; Sarah Paulson was born in Florida, raised by a single mom in Brooklyn. Sarah Jessica Parker was one of seven or eight kids in Ohio. Amy Adams was born in Vicenza, Italy. And Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem. Where are their birth certificates? And the beautiful Ruth Negga was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, raised in London — no, in Ireland I do believe, and she’s here nominated for playing a girl in small-town Virginia.

Ryan Gosling, like all of the nicest people, is Canadian, and Dev Patel was born in Kenya, raised in London, and is here playing an Indian raised in Tasmania. So Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners. And if we kick them all out you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.

They gave me three seconds to say this, so: An actor’s only job is to enter the lives of people who are different from us, and let you feel what that feels like. And there were many, many, many powerful performances this year that did exactly that. Breathtaking, compassionate work.

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 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, and 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 kinda 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. O.K., go on with it.
O.K., this brings me to the press. We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call him on the carpet for every outrage. That’s why our founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in the Constitution. So I only ask the famously well-heeled Hollywood Foreign Press and all of us in our community to join me in supporting the Committee to Protect Journalists, because we’re gonna need them going forward, and they’ll need us to safeguard the truth.


One more thing: Once, when I was standing around on the set one day, whining about something — you know we were gonna work through supper or the long hours or whatever, Tommy Lee Jones said to me, “Isn’t it such a privilege, Meryl, just to be an actor?” Yeah, it is, and we have to remind each other of the privilege and the responsibility of the act of empathy. We should all be proud of the work Hollywood honors here tonight.


As my friend, the dear departed Princess Leia, said to me once, take your broken heart, make it into art.”

Yes, Hollywood reacted accordingly, and Meryl was applauded and praised for her remarks.

.

There were, however, some in the crowd that weren’t fawning over Mrs. Streep: Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn clearly weren't wowed by Meryl's performance.

Here's the video:

Others who were unimpressed took to twitter to voice their point of view.


Comedian Billy Eichner wrote back to Megan McCain's tweet saying, "Um she asked him not to make fun of disabled people and advocated for the freedom of the press and the arts," the star of "Billy on the Street" tweeted to McCain, referring to her with an expletive.

McCain, has been critical of Trump throughout the campaign, fired back saying that using expletives to refer to Republicans like her "is a great way for Hollywood to bridge the cultural divide. Enjoy your bubble."

Can we stop looking to actors for political commentary, they're entertainers. Thats it. I respect and love Meryl Streep ... as an actress. I don't need anything more form her.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
people  in library
Photo by redcharlie on Unsplash

College involves a whirlwind of emotions, whether it’s from the stress of an assignment (or twenty), or from fighting with your roommate. It can be overwhelming at times and it’s important to take a step a back and calmly think things over. Maybe gain some perspective. The following aren’t foolproof tips and may not apply to you, but I was able to find success with them (hope you do too!)

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

How The Holidays Have Changed

It all started when we learned the truth about Santa.

2435
best wishes for Christmas
Pinterest

It is no secret that many American traditions have changed over time. As we grow older we change in so many ways that it only makes sense that we also change the way we celebrate special occasions. Of course when it comes to the holidays there are some family traditions that many of us still excitedly look forward to, whether it is eating your favorite dish or seeing favorite cousin. However, we all know that the holidays have overall changed a little from what they used to be.

Keep Reading...Show less
theatre cast

Everyone who has done musicals knows that once you go there you can never go back. It's like a virus. It never leaves and you find yourself attracted to all types of theater things. You're drawn to it like a moth to a flame. There are certain things you know to be true, whether you did a musical once or have done them your entire life.

Keep Reading...Show less
couple winter
Pexels

When you come home over Christmas break, it's hard to find fun in your hometown. During the winter, it's hard to find the motivation to go out and find things to do. However, there are plenty of fun things to do in almost any town, and there are tons of fun date ideas that aren't taken advantage of. Here are nine fun winter dates to go on.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

25 Things To Do In The 25 Days Leading Up To Christmas

The best holiday deserves an entire month of celebrating.

4481
Christmas Socks  Fireplace
Wesley Tingey

Christmas is arguably one of the most popular holidays of the year. Whether you think Christmas celebrations should be strictly reserved for December, or you're setting up your tree and lights on November 1st, Christmas time is the best time. Filling an entire month with Christmas activities seems like it could be impossible, but I am here to fix that for you. Here are twenty-five of the best things to do in the twenty-five days leading up to Christmas.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments