GOLDEN GLOBES

Donald Trump Called Meryl Streep One of His Favorite Actresses in 2015

The president-elect attacked the Oscar winner as “overrated” on Monday, following her blistering speech at the Golden Globes.
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Left, by Barry Wetcher/Twentieth Century Fox/Rex/Shutterstock; Right, by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

It’s funny that President-Elect Donald Trump thinks Meryl Streep is “overrated”—now that she has taken the stage during a nationally televised broadcast to criticize him in an eloquent, impassioned speech that has since inspired both the wrath of Republicans and over $60,000 in donations to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Why is it funny? Because just a year and a half ago—before Trump was elected president and Streep publicly attacked him—Trump actually called her one of his favorite actresses.

In 2015, when asked if there were any actresses that he is particularly fond of, Trump name-checked the Oscar winner.

Julia Roberts is terrific, and many others,” Trump told The Hollywood Reporter’s Janice Min, before adding, “Meryl Streep is excellent; she’s a fine person, too.” There you have it—in 2015, before she had insulted him, Trump considered Streep to be great, professionally and personally.

Fast-forward to Monday, January 9, when Trump’s tune changed entirely.

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To be fair to Trump, though, Streep did actually call herself “overrated” a few years back—although in complete, self-deprecating jest. While accepting an Emmy for her work in Angels in America in 2004, she said, “You know, there are some days when I myself think I’m overrated.” After a long pause for the audience to finish laughing, Streep continued, “But not today.” Roll the tape!

So, although Trump and Streep have both, at one point or another, called Streep “overrated,” there lies one key difference between the two public figures—Streep seems to have a sense of humor about herself. Trump? Well, not so much.