Meryl Streep slams Melania and Ivanka for ‘silence’ amid sex scandals

Meryl Streep is known for speaking her mind in public, often taking aim at some of the world’s most well-known figures.

And now she’s pointed the finger at President Donald Trump’s wife Melania and their daughter Ivanka, calling them out for remaining ‘silent’ amid an ongoing sexual harassment scandal in Hollywood.

“I don’t want to hear about the silence of me. I want to hear about the silence of Melania Trump. I want to hear from her. She has so much that’s valuable to say,” Streep said in an interview with The New York Times. “And so does Ivanka. I want her to speak now.”

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She went on to address anger over how long it took her to respond to mounting allegations against Harvey Weinstein, who she was previously thought to be close friends with. Streep has since spoken out against the movie mogul, and called the women who have spoken up “heroes”.

“Somebody told me that on Morning Joe they were screaming that I haven’t responded yet,” she explained. “I don’t have a Twitter thing or – handle, whatever. And I don’t have Facebook. I really had to think. Because it really underlined my own sense of cluelessness, and also how evil, deeply evil, and duplicitous, a person he was, yet such a champion of really great work.”

Read more: ‘I played dead’: Meryl Streep recalls horrific assault

Streep said while she suspected he was having affairs, she never once thought he was abusing people – and noted he had “never asked me to a hotel room”. Elsewhere the actress confirmed that actor Dustin Hoffman slapped her while they were filming Kramer vs Kramer, insisting while many actors should feel “free” in scenes, Hoffman was “overstepping”.

Streep went on to admit she had “experienced things, mostly when I was young and pretty”, and said there was a lot of “inexcusable” behaviour at the time. American film producer Weinstein has been transformed in recent months by accusations of repeated sexual misconduct against employees and actresses. He’s gone from a generally respected name in filmmaking to the beleaguered poster-child for sexual harassment in the film industry.

Do you agree with Meryl Streep’s comments?