As you may have heard, Meryl Streep called out Donald Trump in her Golden Globes acceptance speech on Sunday night for the Cecil B. DeMille Award – and the president-elect responded with a series of tweets calling her “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood” and “a Hillary flunky who lost big.”
On Monday night, late-night hosts did not miss an opportunity to mercilessly mock Trump for this tweet. Here’s how they handled it:
1. Made fun of the idea that Streep, one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actresses, is overrated.
Stephen Colbert: “Wait a second, I’m sorry, what? What? What did you just say? Meryl Streep, overrated? Have you seen ‘Sophie’s Choice?’ Have you seen ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman?’ Have you seen that one with the dead people, that she’s even funny in that one? Look, Mr. Trump. You can refuse to release your taxes. You can call to ban an entire religion. You can play footsie with a dictator. But calling Meryl Streep overrated? No! No! Too far!”
Seth Meyers: “Overrated? She’s so good, people use her to compliment people in other professions. Like LeBron James is the Meryl Streep of basketball. Or Donald Trump is the Meryl Streep of having thin skin.”
James Corden: “Truth is, this was actually good news for Meryl – because ‘most overrated actress in Hollywood’ was literally the only award she hadn’t won yet.”
And then there was this exchange on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Ben Affleck: “If there’s one thing truly in the world that we know it’s not true, it’s that Meryl Streep is overrated. If you look up in the encyclopedia ‘great actress,’ it’s a picture of Meryl Streep. It’s like ‘Gandhi, terrible leader!'”
Kimmel: “In fairness to Donald Trump though, the nicest insult he can give someone is that they’re overrated, you know, in a way.”
Affleck: “I guess. But pick a better shot rather than the person whose photograph actually companies ‘great actress’ in the dictionary.”
2. Pointed out that Trump could be focused on more pressing issues.
Colbert: “Of course, President-elect Trump was too focused on defeating ISIS and creating jobs to pick a fight with a celebrity. Just kidding! He tweeted, ‘Meryl Streep, one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood. . .'”
Corden: “In a tense exchange yesterday, a U.S. Navy destroyer fired warning shots at fast-approaching Iranian naval ships. So, of course, our president-elect tweeted about how overrated Meryl Streep is.”
Meyers: “Now, whether these tweets are calculated distractions or just the ramblings of an unhinged narcissist, it’s clear Trump would much rather talk about his feud with Meryl Streep than, say, the fact that intelligence officials believe Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign to help Trump win the election.”
Kimmel: “This must have been tough for Donald Trump. This must have been a ‘Sophie’s Choice.’ Because he could do the presidential thing and ignore this. Or – he could go on Twitter.”
3. Assumed Trump is a fan of. . .other actors.
Corden: “I mean, sure, she’s no Scott Baio.”
On “Conan,” during a bit that had a fake phone call between President Obama and Trump:
Voice of fake Trump: “You see my tweet about Meryl Streep?”
Voice of fake Obama: “Yes, it was ridiculous. She’s a beloved figure and an incredibly talented actress.”
Voice of fake Trump: “She’s no Tara Reid.”
4. Brought up that Trump tweeted a denial that he made fun of a disabled reporter, which Streep mentioned in her speech.
Trevor Noah: “Well, Donald Trump says he didn’t do it, but we have him doing it on tape. I guess we’ll never know the truth. . . . You know, one thing we’re all going to have to get used to over the next four years is Donald Trump and his people saying that things we saw with our own eyes didn’t happen. And not, like, in a cool way – you know, how gangsters are like, ‘Hey, you didn’t see nothin’, you hear?’ That would be cool because if Trump gave us $50 each every time, we would be, like, ‘Yeah, yeah, we didn’t see anything.’ But he didn’t do that.”
Colbert: “This morning, Trump spokeswoman – and future award-winning Meryl Streep role – Kellyanne Conway weighed in on the reporter controversy, by explaining we shouldn’t get hung up on little things like what Donald Trump says and does. (Clip of Conway saying, “You always want to go by what’s come out of his mouth rather than look at what’s in his heart.”) Yes, stop listening to his mouth and stop making fun of what’s in his heart. It would be cruel because his heart is severely disabled. It is medically incapable of empathy.”
Meyers: “Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said today that the media should not focus on what Donald Trump says, and instead report on what is in his heart. Although, really, how much is there to report about chicken grease?”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
