Meryl Streep Slams Walt Disney As 'Anti-Semitic Gender Bigot' In Awards Speech

Meryl Streep shook up the room at the National Board of Review Gala in NYC last night while giving a speech honoring Emma Thompson for her portrayal of "Mary Poppins" creator P.L. Travers in Disney's "Saving Mr. Banks."

While Streep called Thompson "a beautiful artist" who is "practically a saint," she went on to talk about how Disney "supported an anti-Semitic industry lobbying group" and called him a "gender bigot."

In the nine-minute speech, Streep continued that "Some of his associates reported that Walt Disney didn't really like women," quoting esteemed animator Ward Kimball on his old boss: "He didn't trust women or cats."

Streep continued to tear into Disney:

"Disney, who brought joy, arguably, to billions of people, was perhaps ... or had some racist proclivities. He formed and supported an anti-Semitic industry lobbying group. And he was certainly, on the evidence of his company's policies, a gender bigot."

Perhaps Streep forgot she just filmed "Into the Woods" for the studio?

To read Streep's controversial speech in its entirety, click ahead to Vulture >