The Hollywood Foreign Press stands behind Meryl Streep

In an email sent Tuesday to Meryl Streep, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. issued its clear and firm support to the celebrated actress who’s been taking fire from conservatives for criticizing President-elect Donald Trump at Sunday’s Golden Globes.

“Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence,” Streep said onstage while accepting the organization’s Cecil B. DeMille Award, condemning Trump’s campaign trail comments mocking disabled New York Times journalist Serge Kovaleski. “And when the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.”

Trump supporters and right-wing pundits, in turn, teed off on the multiple Academy Award winner, who was also nominated Sunday for her turn in period biopic “Florence Foster Jenkins.”

The Twitter-happy PEOTUS couldn’t resist using his social media platform to take his own shots at Streep — “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood,” he said, stoking a frenzied backlash online.

In the letter obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the 90-member HFPA, a group consisting of 90 international journalists from across the world, applauded Streep for exercising her 1st Amendment rights: “As an organization of journalists, the HFPA stands by your defense of free expression and we reject any calls for censorship.”

Read the full letter below:

Dear Meryl,

Congratulations once again on being the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient. We stand proudly behind our choice, and we applaud your 40 years of captivating work. You’re a class act, in and out of character.

As an organization of journalists, the HFPA stands by your defense of free expression and we reject any calls for censorship.

We thank you for your unwavering support for the arts.

With gratitude and respect,

Lorenzo Soria

President

Hollywood Foreign Press Association

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