Ben Affleck suggests Donald Trump's attack on Meryl Streep is like calling Gandhi a 'terrible leader'

'Pick a better shot than the person whose photograph actually accompanies ‘Great Actress’ in the encyclopedia', says actor

In the hills of Hollywood, Donald Trump is almost universally hated and out and proud Trump supporters are a rare breed. As such, a slew of actors have come forward to applaud Meryl Streep’s six minute rebuke of the President-elect at the Golden Globes.

Ben Affleck is the latest actor to do so and has poked fun at the billionaire developer’s assertion that Streep is one of the most “over-rated actresses in Hollywood”.

Streep used the last high-profile Hollywood event before Mr Trump’s inauguration to condemn the incoming President for imitating a disabled reporter. Mr Trump responded by launching into a Twitter rant against her which labelled her a “Hillary flunky who lost big” and questioned her acting skills.

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday night, Affleck said: “If there’s one thing truly in the world that we know it’s not true, it’s that Meryl Streep is overrated”.

“It’s like Gandhi: terrible leader!” he added.

Kimmel suggested that “overrated” might be the nicest insult that Mr Trump is capable of giving.

“I guess,” Affleck responded. “But pick a better shot than the person whose photograph actually accompanies ‘Great Actress’ in the encyclopedia.”

But Mr Trump has not always been critical of Streep - in a 2015 interview he said she was “excellent” and a “fine person too”.

In her speech, Streep said Mr Trump’s imitation of a disabled reporter was the one performance this year which shocked her. She argued it legitimised bullying and filtered down into the attitudes of wider society.

“There was one performance this year that stunned me. It sank its hooks in my heart,” she said as she accepted the Cecil B DeMille award. “It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter. Someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back.”

Streep is referring to the incident when Mr Trump mocked the New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski during a rally in November 2015.

At the time the Republican billionaire was widely condemned for mocking Mr Kovaleski – who had disputed Mr Trump’s claim he witnessed “thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating on the day of the 9/11 attacks.

Mr Trump jerked his arms in a manner which poked fun at the reporter’s condition. Mr Kovaleski has arthrogryposis, a congenital condition affecting how his joints move.

The Republican denied the fact he mocked him at the time and has continued to do so. “For the 100th time, I never ‘mocked’ a disabled reporter (would never do that) but simply showed him ‘groveling’ when he totally changed a 16 year old story that he had written in order to make me look bad,” Mr Trump tweeted on Monday. “Just more very dishonest media!”

Streep’s speech, which also urged Hollywood to support the Committee to Project Journalists, has triggered a boost in donations to the organisation which defends the rights of journalists and promotes press freedom.