Meryl Streep slams Donald Trump in Golden Globes acceptance speech

'It broke my heart': Meryl Streep fights back tears as she rips into 'bully' Donald Trump and his impersonation of a disabled person in speech that brings stunned Golden Globes audience to its feet

Meryl Streep publicly slammed Donald Trump in her Golden Globes speech

She was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award on Sunday

She took aim at Trump for mocking disabled reporter during election campaign

Streep said publicly humiliating people made it okay for others to do the same

The star also called for the press to stand up to the president-elect going forward

Trump dismissed Streep as a 'Hillary lover' following the award ceremony

Published: 23:01 EST, 8 January 2017 | Updated: 01:59 EST, 9 January 2017

Meryl Streep used her Golden Globes acceptance speech to publicly slam president-elect Donald Trump as she alluded to racism and disrespect in front of a room of visibly stunned stars.

The Cecil B. DeMille honoree took aim at Trump, without mentioning him by name, by calling the moment the president-elect mocked a disabled reporter the most stunning performance of the year.

'There was nothing good about it, but it did its job,' Streep said in the powerful speech that left many teary-eyed.

'It kind of broke my heart when I saw it, and I still can't get it out my head because it wasn't in a movie, it was in real life.

Scroll down for video

Meryl Streep, the Cecil B. DeMille honoree, used her Golden Globes acceptance speech on Sunday night to publicly slam Donald Trump for mocking a disabled reporter

'It was that moment when a person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter - someone he outranked in privilege, in power and in the capacity to fight back.

Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners and if you kick them all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts

'That instinct to humiliate, when it's modeled by someone in a public platform, it filters down into everyone's life because it gives permission for others to do the same.

'Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose.'

Trump came under fire in 2015 for mocking New York Times investigative reporter Serge Kovaleski by impersonating the journalist's physical handicap. It was an incident replayed frequently in campaign advertising.

Streep, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention, also called for the press to stand up to Trump and hold him to account going forward.

Trump dismissed Streep as a 'Hillary lover' following the awards ceremony, the New York Times reports.

While Trump said he had not seen Streep's speech or the Golden Globes, he said he was 'not surprised' that he was under attack by 'liberal movie people'.

The Cecil B. DeMille honoree's speech stunned the audience, leaving many teary-eyed

Trump came under fire in 2015 for mocking New York Times investigative reporter Serge Kovaleski by impersonating the journalist's physical handicap

In her speech, which earned a standing ovation from the stunned audience, Streep noted that 'Hollywood' was a reviled place.

She spoke about how the Hollywood Foreign Press and the actors present were part of 'the most vilified segments in American society right now' - Hollywood, foreigners and the press.

'But who are we, and what is Hollywood anyway? It's just a bunch of people from other places,' Streep said as she touched on her New Jersey upbringing.

She mentioned nominees seated in the room by name and recalled details of their cultural backgrounds to shine a light on Hollywood's multicultural makeup and to build context for the rest of her speech.

'Viola (Davis) was born in a sharecroppers cabin in South Carolina, came up in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Sarah Paulson was born in Florida, raised by a single mom in Brooklyn,' she said.

'Sarah Jessica Parker was one of seven or eight kids from Ohio. Amy Adams was born in Vicenzia, Italy, and Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem.

'Where are their birth certificates?' she asked.

Streep noted Viola Davis - who introduced Streep for the award - was born in a sharecroppers cabin in South Carolina before being raised in Central Falls, Rhode Island

Ryan Gosling 'like all the nicest people' is Canadian, Streep said. She also mentioned Dev Patel's Kenyan heritage. He was raised in London and was nominated for a Golden Globe playing an Indian raised in Tasmania, Australia

Sarah Paulson was born in Florida and raised by a single mom in Brooklyn, Streep noted

Ruth Negga was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and was raised in Ireland. Streep pointed out that Amy Adams was born in Vicenzia, Italy

Sarah Jessica Parker was one of seven or eight kids from Ohio

'The beautiful Ruth Negga was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and was raised in Ireland and she's here nominated for playing a small-town girl from Virginia.

'Ryan Gosling, like all the nicest people is Canadian. Dev Patel was born in Kenya, raised in London, is here playing an Indian, raised in Tasmania.

'Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners and if you kick them all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts,' Streep said to loud applause.

Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose.

Streep mentioned her late friend Carrie Fisher, who died just after Christmas, and how the actress and writer urged others to 'take your broken heart and make it into art.'

Her speech sent Twitter into a frenzy with many of A-list stars applauding Streep.

'There has never been anyone like Meryl Streep. I love her,' Ellen DeGeneres wrote.

Orange Is The New Black star Uzo Aduba wrote: 'Meryl Streep. It's this same level of bravery that she has offered us, freely, again and again.'

'"When the powerful use their position to bully other, we all lose" thank you,' Julianne Moore wrote.

MERYL STREEP'S FULL SPEECH:

Thank you, thank you. I lost my voice in screaming and lamentation this week. I've lost my mind sometime earlier this year, so I have to read. 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 segment of American society right now. Think about it: Hollywood, foreigners, and the press.

But who are we? What is Hollywood, anyway? It's just a bunch of different places. I was born and raised and educated in the public schools of New Jersey, Viola was born in a sharecroppers 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 from Ohio. Amy Adams was born in Vicenzia, Italy, and Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem. Where are their birth certificates? And the beautiful Ruth Negga was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and was raised in Ireland and she's here nominated - for playing a small-town girl from Virginia. Ryan Gosling, like all the nicest people is Canadian. And Dev Patel was born in Kenya, raised in London, is here playing an Indian, raised in Tasmania.

So Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if you kick 'em all out, you'll have nothing else to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts. They gave me three seconds to say that.

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 that did exactly that - breathtaking, compassionate work. But there was one performances 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. This instinct to humiliate, when it's modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, filters down into everybody'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.

Okay, this brings me to the press. We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call them them on the carpet for every outrage - that's why our founders enshrine the press and its freedoms in our constitution. So I only asked 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, we were going to 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 very 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. Thank you.

The Cecil B. DeMille honoree called the moment the president-elect mocked a disabled reporter the most stunning performance of the year

While Streep won the annual Cecille B. DeMille Award and can boast of 48 Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, her career is still current.

She was nominated this year for her portrayal of a bad opera singer in 'Florence Foster Jenkins.'

Streep was introduced by fellow actress Viola Davis, who said her husband urged her every day when she worked with her to tell Streep how much she meant to her. She was too bashful then, but not on stage on Sunday.

'You make me proud to be an artist,' Davis said. 'You make me feel that what I have in me - my body, my face, my age - is enough.'

DONALD TRUMP SLAMMED FOR MOCKING DISABLED REPORTER:

Donald Trump came under fire in 2015 after he mocked investigative reporter Serge Kovaleski at a Republican rally in South Carolina

Donald Trump came under fire in 2015 after he mocked investigative reporter Serge Kovaleski at a Republican rally in South Carolina.

He was accused of impersonating the New York Times journalist's physical handicap for what he saw as the reporter stepping away from an article he wrote on the 9/11 attacks in The Washington Post.

'Now the poor guy, you ought to see this guy,' Trump said, drawing his wrists up close to his chest and flailing around. '"Ah, I don't know what I said! I don't remember!"'

Kovaleski has arthrogryposis, a congenital condition that has locked his right arm up against his chest in a similar position to the one Trump held.

He claimed Trump was mocking his disability, while Trump denied at the time knowing who Kovaleski was.

Kovaleski then said he was on first-name terms with Trump and had interviewed him around a dozen times over the past 30 years.

Pro-Trump website Catholics 4 Trump claimed last year that the Republican had a long history of making similar gestures while mocking other people.

They featured videos from 2016, 2015 and 2005 showing Trump doing similar - albeit shorter and less involved - impressions on several other occasions.