Jimmy Kimmel, host of the Academy Awards, started off the show Sunday night with a nod for Meryl Streep, who this year received her 20th Oscar nomination.
In keeping with insults hurled by President Donald Trump, who recently called the actress “overrated” in a tweet, Kimmel acknowledged Streep, again nominated in the best actress category for “Florence Foster Jenkins,” “for her many uninspiring and overrated performances.” As the actress sank into her seat, covering her face, Kimmel kept the joke going by citing some more of the Summit native’s work (see clip below).
“From her mediocre early work in ‘The Deer Hunter’ and ‘Out of Africa’ to her underwhelming performances in ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ and ‘Sophie’s Choice,’ Meryl Streep has phoned it in for more than 50 films.”
Trump had tweeted about Streep in January, calling her “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood” and a “Hillary flunky” after she gave a speech when she accepted her Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes. The speech criticized the then-president-elect’s immigration policy and mockery of a disabled reporter, though Streep did not actually use Trump’s name.
To even the score, Kimmel asked the audience to stand and give Streep a “totally undeserved” round of applause.
.@JimmyKimmel on Meryl Streep’s 20th Oscar nomination. #Oscars https://t.co/sYnkctdJye pic.twitter.com/0pNSSlu00Z
— ABC News (@ABC) February 27, 2017
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
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