The actress, who was collecting the Cecille B DeMille Award at last night’s Golden Globes, was visibly emotional, she did not mention the name of the newly-elected USA President Donald Trump, but was clear that she meant him in her speech. In November 2015, Mr Trump mocked New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski’s disability in a rally to secure the Republican nomination.
Meryl said it “sank its hook in my heart”. “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,” she said. “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.” She added that she considers bullying unacceptable especially among the people of authority. “This instinct to humiliate when it’s modelled 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,” she added.
