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Not on the A-List: Donald Trump's Sour Relationship with Hollywood

Donald Trump lashed out at the "liberal movie people" after he was repeatedly zinged during the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday

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Published on January 9, 2017 02:25 PM

Though President-elect Donald Trump wasn’t in attendance at the 74th annual Golden Globes on Sunday, his presence was surely felt.

First, Trump was the subject of numerous jabs from host Jimmy Fallon. Then, he was the unnamed subject of a passionate speech about empathy delivered by Meryl Streep.

In response, the president-elect told The New York Times that he “wasn’t surprised” by the attack orchestrated by “liberal movie people.” Later, through some early morning tweets, Trump dubbed Streep “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood.”

Though the 70-year-old may now have a grudge against the industry, he certainly once welcomed Hollywood attention – in fact, he has a star on the city’s iconic Walk of Fame.

Before ascending to the country’s highest position, Trump jumped at the chance to show off his acting chops through a series of big- and small-screen appearances, most often playing himself.

Some of the president-elect’s guest bits included a turn on The Jeffersons in 1985, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in 1992, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1994, The Nanny in 1996, Sex and the City in 1999; Zoolander in 2001, and Monk in 2002.

In The Little Rascals, Trump branched out, this time portraying a version of himself: rich-kid Waldo’s father.

When The Apprentice premiered in 2004, the president-elect solidified himself as a television personality, appearing for years on the reality show, on which he is still credited as executive producer.

Despite being an active participant in the small-screen industry, Trump once railed against TV’s highest honor: the Emmys. In 2012, after Amazing Race won the Emmy for best reality competition series – the award it beat The Apprentice for in 2004 – Trump took to Twitter, complaining, “Amazing Race winning an Emmy again is a total joke. The Emmys have no credibility – no wonder the ratings are at record lows.”

He added at the time, “Lots of people agree that the Emmys were a joke – got bad ratings – no credibility!”

The president-elect has even walked back on his praise for Saturday Night Live, a show he hosted under two years ago. Amid Alec Baldwin‘s continued impersonation of him on the sketch show, Trump called the long-running series “unwatchable.”

After declaring his candidacy for president in 2015, many of Hollywood’s biggest names came out steadfastly against the then-Republican candidate – and many have remained outspoken since his election.

In a clip released ahead of the Electoral College vote, celebrities like Debra Messing and Martin Sheen pleaded with electors to not vote for Trump.

Just earlier this month, it was announced that an anti-Trump protest is planned by the Women’s March on Main to take place during one of cinema’s biggest events: the Sundance Film Festival. (The Sundance Film Festival is not affiliated with the march.)

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Yet, now, Trump insists he’s firmly over the stars.

Addressing his inauguration talent search in a December tweet, Trump declared, “The so-called ‘A’ list celebrities are all wanting tixs to the inauguration, but look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE!”