China Daily

Trump lambasted

Hollywood lashes out at US president-elect at Golden Globes awards

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Donald Trump was not in attendance at the Golden Globes, but he was there in spirit — or more precisely, as the target of a slew of political barbs, not to mention an impassione­d takedown by actress Meryl Streep.

Only a few seconds into his monologue, host Jimmy Fallon noted that the Globes was “one of the few places left where America still honors the popular vote.”

He was just getting started. Fallon went on to compare the president-elect to the evil King Joffrey in Game of Thrones.

“What would it be like if King Joffrey had lived?” Fallon asked. “Well, in 12 days we’re going to find out.”

In an interview with the New York Times, Trump said he did not watch the Golden Globes but was “not surprised” he was attacked by “liberal movie people”.

Streep took things in a much more serious direction, excoriatin­g Trump without mentioning his name in an impassione­d speech as she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

The actress, who spoke on behalf of Hillary Clinton at this year’s Democratic National Convention, said the “performanc­e” that had most stunned her this year was when Trump had mocked a disabled reporter.

“It was the 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,” Streep said.

“This instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone ... powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life. Because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing.”

In his interview with the Times, Trump called Streep a “Hillary lover” and heatedly denounced her comments about his perceived treatment of the disabled reporter. “People keep saying I intended to mock the reporter’s disability, as if Meryl Streep and others could read my mind, and I did no such thing,” Trump said.

Streep also referenced Trump’s policies on immigratio­n when she pointedly listed the multicultu­ral heritage of many Hollywood actors.

“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 cheers.

In Fallon’s monologue, he referred to a Streep film, Florence Foster Jenkins , in which she stars as “the worst opera singer in the world.” Fallon added: “Even she turned down performing at Trump’s inaugurati­on.”

The mournful drama Manchester by the Sea, he joked, was “the only thing from 2016 that was more depressing than 2016.”

Hugh Laurie, accepting his award for best supporting actor in The Night Manager, also indulged in Trump jokes, speculatin­g that this would perhaps be the last Golden Globes ceremony.

“I don’t mean to be gloomy, but it has the words ‘Hollywood,’ ‘foreign’ and ‘press’ in the title,” Laurie said, explaining his pessimism about the awards surviving the Trump era.

He accepted his award “on behalf of psychopath­ic billionair­es everywhere.”

Away from the politics of the evening, whimsical modern-day musical La La Land pirouetted its way into major Oscars contention as it swept the awards board.

Damien Chazelle’s nostalgic tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals picked up all seven of the statuettes for which it was nominated — giving the film momentum as it launches its campaign for next month’s Academy Awards.

“This is a film for dreamers,” said Emma Stone, who took home the prize for best actress in a musical/comedy for her role as aspiring actress Mia.

“I think that hope and creativity are two of the most important things in the world. And that’s what this movie is about.”

Her co-star Ryan Gosling — who plays jazz pianist Sebastian — won best actor honors, while Chazelle took home prizes for best director and screenplay.

Before Sunday, the record for the most Globes was shared by the 1975 release One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the 1978 movie Midnight Express, with six wins apiece.

What would it be like if King Joffrey had lived? In 12 days, we’re going to find out.” Jimmy Fallon, host of the Golden Globes

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