Meryl Streep

Chanel's creative director accused Streep of rejecting one of his dresses because she found a different designer who was willing to pay her.

He has since said he "misunderstood" - but that has not calmed Streep's ire.

"I do not take this lightly, and Mr Lagerfeld's generic 'statement' of regret for this 'controversy' was not an apology," she said.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) described the actress as a "class act" after her speech at the ceremony on Sunday night.

Streep criticised President-elect Donald Trump and said: "We need the principled press to hold power to account."

Lorenzo Soria, the president of the HFPA, has now endorsed Streep.

In a series of tweets before dawn Monday, he called Streep, who has more Academy Award nominations than any other actor in history, "one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood."

"She is a Hillary flunky who lost big," Trump said.

At the Golden Globes on Sunday night, Streep used an acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award to take Trump to task. Without naming him, she spoke out against disrespect and violence, and called for the protection of journalists.

In her nearly 6-minute address while accepting the Cecil B. Demille Award, the actress highlighted the importance of the "most vilified segments in American society right now" -- "Hollywood, foreigners and the press."

Without referencing him by name, the actress also blasted president-elect Donald Trump for mocking a reporter with a disability in 2015.

"There was a lot of laughter in the room," said Susan Pocharski, entertainment director of the women's magazine, who moderated their recent conversation. "They were both incredibly down to earth, real, thoughtful (and) they care about the same issues that every other woman thinks about, which is how to balance work and family and how to make an impact in the world."