Dana White responds to Meryl Streep's remarks about MMA, calling the actress as an "uppity 80-year old lady" and declares her comment as "stupid".
In Meryl Streep's speech for her lifetime achievement award in the Golden Globes, the actress touched on the issue of diversity in Hollywood and said "If we kick [foreigners] out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts - which are not the arts," as per the BBC. MMA celebrities immediately spoke out about her comment, with Dana White coming across as the harshest so far.
Dana White came to the sport's defense in an interview with TMZ and declared it as an art, contrary to Meryl Streep's comment. He paid a backhanded compliment to Streep and said "To say something stupid like that is like saying, 'She's not a talented actress,' which she is. She's a very talented actress." The UFC president explained that MMA fighters train their whole lives for the sport and are very talented in what they do. Additionally, White commented that while he is aware that MMA isn't for everyone, he doesn't expect "an uppity 80-year-old lady to be in our demographic and love mixed martial arts."
Meryl Streep's comment came from her speech where she denounced the bullying culture that was encouraged by President-elect Donald Trump after he allegedly mocked Pulitzer Prize-winner Serge Kovaleski, a disabled reporter. Trump caused controversy after the incident and maintained he was not mocking Kovaleski for his condition but he was questioning the reporter for changing his story.
UFC is the biggest promoter of MMA and most of the top-ranked fighters of the sport belong with them. Dana White also gave a speech in support of Donald Trump at the Republican Convention last July 2016. White is not the only one who has shown support for MMA after Meryl Streep's remark, Scott McCoker and John McCarthy have also called out on the actress for being dismissive of the sport.
Watch the interview with Dana White here:
