Meryl Streep uses awards speech to slam Donald Trump

Meryl Streep has used her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes to slam Donald Trump and his attitude to the press and foreigners.

Streep, accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Globes today, spent much of her speech picking apart Trump.

Picking up on something Hugh Laurie said earlier, Streep began by pointing out to the celebrities and press assembled that they were "the most vilified section of American society".

She said that while Hollywood is looked at as a glamorous institution, many celebrities, including herself and Viola Davis who presented her with the award, came from very modest backgrounds.

She then spoke of how many famous celebrities, including Amy Adams and Natalie Portman, come from foreign countries, sarcastically adding, "where are their birth certificates?"

"If you kick them all out, you will have nothing to watch but American football and mixed martial arts."

She then got emotional speaking of how she felt when Trump mocked and impersonated disabled reporter Sege Kovaleski.

"It was difficult to watch because it wasn't a movie, it was real life," said Streep. She added that "disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence" and called for Hollywood to continue providing the image of empathy.

She called on the press to "hold power to account", and for the gathered celebrities to stand by the press and ensure that they can do their job properly.

She ended with a tearful tribute to her friend Carrie Fisher, who died in December 2016 following a heart attack.

"As my dear departed friend Princess Leia said to me once, 'Take your broken heart, make it into art'."

Streep played a version of Fisher in the movie Postcards from the Edge, based on Fisher's relationship with her mother, Debbie Reynolds.

Streep opened her speech by mentioning that she had lost her voice after a weekend of partying. She was one of the guest's at the White House for a farewell shindig for President Obama.

Streep was also a nominee for Best Actress for Florence Foster Jenkins, but lost to Emma Stone.