Viola Davis provided plenty of inspiration during her time on stage at the 74th annual Golden Globes Sunday evening (Jan. 8), but her most poignant thoughts were off stage when she addressed how Americans should live in “Trump’s America.”
The saying came to be in 2016 to showcase those in Middle America and small groups of minorities who were a part of the 62 million who voted for President-elect Donald Trump. It’s also been used to express the misguided who execute violence and bigotry in his name. It bears sadness for some and yet, a victory for others which is why Davis dismissed it all together when asked about how to live in “Trump’s America” at the press room for the show.
“I will remove Trump from the equation because I feel that it’s bigger than him,” she said. “I feel that it is our responsibility to uphold what it is to be American and what America is about, and what it means to pursue the American dream. I think that America in and of itself has been an affirmation.” She continued by calling out those who actively ignored Trump’s views and political inexperience at the polling station. “We’ve fallen short a lot because there is no way that we can have anyone in office that is not an extension of our own belief system. So then what does that say about us? If you answer that question I think that that says it all.”
Her friend and film icon Meryl Streep also shared thoughts on Trump while accepting the annual Cecil B. DeMille Award. In the moving speech, Streep called out Trump for mocking a disabled reporter and connected Trump’s vile immigration aspirations to Hollywood’s elite.
Davis took home the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for her role as Rose Maxson in the film adaption of August Wilson’s 1983 play, Fences. During her acceptance speech, she paid tribute to her father, who she likened to the main character Troy Maxon (played by director Denzel Washington.) “To the original Troy, my father Dan Davis, born in 1936. He had a fifth-grade education and didn’t know how to read until he was 15,” she said. “But you know what? He had a story and it deserved to be told — and August Wilson told it.”
Check out her thoughts below.
.@ViolaDavis was just asked about Donald Trump’s presidency backstage. Watch her response #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/Yrj9Rv8So0
— Variety (@Variety) January 9, 2017