During the Committee to Protect Journalists' annual awards on Wednesday, Meryl Streep took the stage with a surprise speech about physical violence that she had experienced in her life.
According to the Daily Beast, Streep was originally at the event to thank journalists for being the "first line of defence against tyranny and state-sanctioned news." Her speech, in particular, focused on female journalists and their bravery for putting themselves in harm's way.
"We do recognise the special cocktail of venom and ridicule which is always tinged with sexual threat that's served up online for women—any woman in any profession—that stands up to tell the truth," she said. "I revere the people who do this because I am not a naturally brave person,"
After thanking the room full of journalists for all they have done, Streep then shared her own personal experiences including a story involving Cher.
"I do know something about real terror—the two times in my life when I was threatened and dealt with real physical violence, I learned something about life that I wouldn't have known otherwise and I was lucky because my instincts served me well," she said.
"In one instance, I played dead and waited until the blows stopped—watching like people say you do from about 50 feet above from where I was beaten," she revealed. "And in the second instance, someone else was being abused and I just went completely nuts and went after this man. Ask Cher – she was there. And the thug ran away; it was a miracle."
Meryl Streep and Cher previously worked together in the 1983 film Silkwood, for which they both received Academy Award nominations. They are currently working together on the highly anticipated musical film, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, that will be released next year.
Watch Streep's speech starting at 1:39:00 below:
