Meryl Streep Turned Down The Devil Wears Prada At First

We almost didn’t have Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly.

Ahead of the release of The Devil Wears Prada 2 this weekend, the 76-year-old EGOT winner revealed that she almost didn’t play the iconic Runway magazine editor-in-chief because she wanted to double her salary for the part.

“I read the script — the script was great. They called me up, and they made an offer, and I said, ‘No. I’m not going to do it,’” she said during an appearance on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.

Streep said that she “knew it was going to be a hit” and even felt as though she had leverage to negotiate. “They needed me, I felt,” she explained. “I wanted to see if I doubled my ask, and they went right away and said, ‘Sure.’”

At the time, Streep said she was 56 and even considering retirement, which is why she felt emboldened to ask for more — if it didn’t work out, she said, it would have been OK. But she was shocked at how quickly the team said yes. “It took me this long to understand that I could do that!” she said emphatically, clutching onto the arms of her chair.

Women flooded the comments on social media, re-emphasizing the importance of the iconic actress’ words. “Not enough women realize this earlier in their career. We all need to be better advocates for ourselves,” one wrote. “Listen up girls! WE ARE WORTH IT !” said another.

Streep is easily one of the most decorated actors in history. She currently holds the most Oscar nominations, with 21 in total, and is one of 13 performers to have ever won an Oscar in both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress — plus one of only three performers to win multiple Oscars across both acting categories. She’s won six Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and one Tony Award nomination, making her a Triple Crown of Acting recipient and EGOT nominee.

Some other commenters were just shocked that she didn’t seem to know how much we all want to see her on screen. “Does she know she’s Meryl Streep?” one fan asked.