Meryl has opened doors for women in Hollywood

THE #metoo campaign has sucked some surprising figures into its slipstream, none more so than Hollywood’s grande dame, Meryl Streep, pictured. Posters have gone up all around Los Angeles, showing Meryl with a red stripe across her face and the words ‘She knew’ emblazoned on it, suggesting that she was no stranger to producer Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual abuse of actresses.

A right-wing guerilla artist has claimed responsibility for the campaign as a reprisal for Meryl’s criticism of Donald Trump.

But even so, the poster campaign caps an extraordinary unluvvie-like week for Streep, during which she was roundly accused of silence and hypocrisy by actress Rose McGowan, one of Weinstein’s chief victims.

Meryl stubbornly denies any knowledge of Weinstein’s predatory behaviour, claiming that he was always respectful towards her as he needed her more for his career than she needed him.

This is certainly true, as Streep has had an unrivalled position in Hollywood since the Seventies, hoovering up many of the best roles for women.

Unlike Jane Fonda or Sharon Stone, she has never publicly supported women’s issues or voiced concerns about younger actresses.

But for all of her neglect of the sisterhood, Streep has had more influence on young actresses than any other movie star on the planet.

She is a serious player in a tough and uncompromising business, where, as we know now, women are still treated as second-class citizens.

Perhaps the women who view her today with suspicion should focus less on the compromises she may have made than on the fact that if it wasn’t for Meryl Streep, the only roles for women in Hollywood would be as bimbos or chorus girls.