Despite the fact that multiple audience members were moved to tears by Meryl Streep's Golden Globes speech, not everyone was pleased. While accepting the Cecil B. Demille Award lifetime achievement award, Streep called out Donald Trump's problematic leadership style — without even uttering his name once. Unsurprisingly, the president-elect's supporters came after the acclaimed actor in full force on social media. But luckily, plenty of people had her back. For instance, Shonda Rhimes defended Streep in a powerful tweet that felt like the ultimate comeback. The Scandal creator wrote,
How DARE Meryl exercise her right to free speech like that's a thing we are allowed to do here in Ameri- wait...hmm. #MerylStreep
Rhimes' tweet highlights how ridiculous it is to bash Streep for using her First Amendment right. It's also pretty ironic that Streep is receiving so much flack, considering that the people who are bashing the actor are likely the same ones who excused offensive comments Trump uttered during his campaign as "locker room talk" or speaking his mind. Why is Trump allowed to make sexist or racist statements, yet when Streep calls out his flaws, she's suddenly a huge villain? Honestly, the double standard makes zero sense.
Now, here's Rhimes' tweet, which you'll likely want to print out on a huge poster, á la Bernie Sanders on last week's Senate floor:
During her acceptance speech, Streep highlighted the flaws in a leadership style like Trump's, emphasizing how a bully does not make much of a leader at all. She said,
This instinct to humiliate, when it's modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everyone's life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.
In her speech, Streep was not cruel, nor mean. But if you took a look at Twitter, you'd think she wiped the floor with Trump. All it takes is watching the video below to know that she handled the situation with the utmost class.
Rhimes was right — Streep did nothing wrong here. Her poise and eloquence make her the very definition of a leader... unlike someone else who comes to mind.
