People are really unhappy about Meryl Streep’s ‘feminist’ t-shirt
Meryl Streep has caused a stir with a t-shirt she wore on a magazine cover.
The slogan “I’d rather be a rebel than a slave”, which was taken from a speech by suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, was featured on the t-shirt.
Streep, who stars in the film ‘Suffragette’, which follows the early women’s rights movement in the UK, posed in the t-shirt on the cover of Time Out London.
She was featured alongside co-star Carey Mulligan.
The full passage of the speech: “I know that women, once convinced that they are doing what is right, that their rebellion is just, will go on, no matter what the difficulties, no matter what the dangers, so long as there is a woman alive to hold up the flag of rebellion. I would rather be a rebel than a slave.”
But some have taken offence at the slogan, suggesting it is offensive given America’s history on slavery.
Many took to Twitter to suggest that Streep should have chosen not to wear the shirt.
Time Out has released a statement saying the quote has been taken out of context, and that it was intended as a “rallying cry” for women to stand up against oppression.
The statement went on to say it was “absolutely not intended to criticise those who have no choice but to submit to oppression, or to reference the Confederacy.”
Suffragette opens the BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 7.
