Earlier this week, Meryl Streep made headlines after the Oscar-winning actress focused on President-Elect Donald Trump in her speech at the 2017 Golden Globes. While majority of Hollywood rallied behind the actress, netizens in China are weighing in with conflicting views about the dispute.
It can be recalled that while receiving the Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement at the awards ceremony, Streep denunciated Trump without mentioning his name. In a speech which she wrote herself, the actress called out the President-elect for mocking a disabled reporter during a rally.
“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,” said Streep (via People).
Her peers were visibly moved by the actress' remarks, but Trump wasn’t having it as he immediately took to Twitter to blast the actress, calling Streep one of “the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood.”
As late night hosts and friends George Clooney and Robert De Niro jumped to Streep’s defense, the debate became a hot topic in China as supporters weighed in on the clash.
Some praised the 67-year-old for speaking out, with Tao Tao telling the Global Times that she admired Streep as a person.
“An artist who won a lifetime achievement award should be able to speak for a larger group of people, as well as care about society and her country,” said Tao.
Meanwhile, WeChat user Ding Chenling, a staunch Trump supporter, wrote an article in defense of the 70-year-old. The piece was viewed over 80,000 on his WeChat account and has been favorably received by commenters.
Ding told the media outlet that he couldn’t believe how his well-educated friends are expressing admiration for the “Florence Foster Jenkins” star.
“Streep hasn’t figured out that Trump is against illegal immigrants, not all foreigners,” said Ding, adding that the actress and her peers are “idiots” who are unaware of what is really going on in the world.
It appears that the issue is not going away anytime soon as more Hollywood personalities are backing Streep on the matter.
As the Trump administration is scheduled to begin in a matter of days, the clash with the actress is just one more thing that the President-Elect has to deal with as he makes the move to the White House.