George Clooney has branded President Donald Trump a “Hollywood elitist” while defending Meryl Streep for speaking out about him at the Golden Globes.
The veteran actress made a passionate speech about the leader, without mentioning him by name, while receiving the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award at the ceremony in January (17) and she was blasted by Trump, who called her “overrated”.
Afterwards, many people suggested Hollywood stars shouldn’t speak out about politics, but George has come to Meryl’s defence, pointing out that Trump is also a Hollywood star who has appeared in many films and TV shows.
“This is the part that makes me a little crazy,” he told French program Rencontres de Cinema. “When Meryl (Streep) spoke, everyone on that one side was like, ‘Well that’s elitist Hollywood speaking.’ Donald Trump has 22 acting credits. He collects $120,000 a year from a Screen Actor’s Guild pension fund. He is a Hollywood elitist.”
He also said Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon was a Hollywood elitist as he is a “failed film writer and director.”
George, who has spoken out against Trump before himself, said Meryl had every right to speak as an American citizen and that he hopes the press will do a better job at holding him accountable during his presidency.
“I think we have a demagogue in the White House,” he explained. “We need the fourth estate, which is journalism, to hold his feet to the fire. They didn’t do a very good job during the campaign and they haven’t done a particularly good job yet, but those things will change.”
George’s interview comes ahead of his appearance at the Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, which take place in Paris on Friday (24Feb17). The actor, who is expecting twins with lawyer wife Amal, is due to receive the honorary Cesar Award for his contribution to cinema.
