We all have a point of view, but some of us have a platform and the ability to amplify our opinions. Such is the politicisation of Hollywood that nobody was surprised when Meryl Streep used her acceptance speech at the Golden Globe Awards to deliver a blistering attack on America’s president-elect, Donald Trump.
Hollywood, with its traditional left-wing tendencies, has a record of targeting Republican presidents, such as George W Bush, and their policies. What is different this time is that the subject is one of their own – a reality television star who has used similar pulpits, and social media, to push his own political opinions.
You may or may not agree with Streep’s critique, but one thing is clear: over the next four years we’re going to hear a lot more of this type of rhetoric. In American politics, power resides in your ability to reach an audience. Celebrities have a disproportionately large reach, so we should brace ourselves for more of the same.
