Meryl Streep's amazing speech at the Golden Globes is the gift that keeps on giving — quite literally.
According to TIME, the Committee to Protect Journalists received about 700 donations last night — 140 times more than what they usually see. The increase is being attributed to Streep's shoutout of the organization in her powerful acceptance speech after she was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement.
In her remarks, the actress denounced President-elect Donald Trump for mocking a differently-abled reporter during a campaign event in late 2015. She then encouraged the audience to support journalists and freedom of the press, so reporters can hold Trump accountable during his time in office.
"That’s why our founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in the Constitution," said Streep. "So I only ask the famously well-heeled Hollywood Foreign Press and all of us in our community to join me in supporting the Committee to Protect Journalists, because we're gonna need them going forward, and they'll need us to safeguard the truth."
A non-profit organization, CPJ is devoted to defending the freedom of the press throughout the world. Their work includes documenting violations to press freedom, providing financial support to journalists in danger, and even seeking justice for journalists who have been murdered or imprisoned.
This is not the first time that an organization has experienced an uptick in donations driven by concerns over the incoming Trump administration's proposed (or presumed) policies.
After comedian John Oliver urged his viewers to support good journalism, multiple news outlets saw a bump in subscriptions and donations. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood famously received about 20,000 donations in the name of Vice-president elect Mike Pence.
Still, although the number of donations to CPJ spiked after Streep's remarks, the contributions appear to have been fairly modest. "Most of them were small, individual donations coming from people who appear to have been inspired by her speech," Courtney Radsch, advocacy director at CPJ, told Poynter.
Still, although the number of donations to CPJ spiked after Streep's remarks, the contributions appear to have been fairly modest. "Most of them were small, individual donations coming from people who appear to have been inspired by her speech," Courtney Radsch, advocacy director at CPJ, told Poynter.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT