Donald Trump has attacked Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, calling her "over-rated" and a "Hillary flunky who lost big".
His comments on social media came after the actress criticised Mr Trump's impression of a disabled reporter during his campaign for the presidency, saying it "kind of broke my heart" in her Golden Globes acceptance speech last night.
The billionaire, who will become President on 20 January, was apparently doing an impression of Serge Kovaleski when he waved his arms around erratically during a rally.
Defending himself on Twitter, Mr Trump said he "never 'mocked' a disable reporter", adding that he "would never do that".
"Simply showed him 'groveling' when he totally changed a 16 year old story that he had written in order to make me look bad," he wrote.
Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. She is a.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017
Hillary flunky who lost big. For the 100th time, I never "mocked" a disabled reporter (would never do that) but simply showed him.......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017
Streep, who was collecting the Cecil B DeMille Award at the Golden Globes, said the widely criticised episode in November 2015 "sank its hook in my heart".
She said she was shocked that the "person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country" was imitating a disabled reporter, "someone he outranked in privilege, power, and the capacity to fight back".
"It kind of broke my heart, and I saw it, and I still can't get it out of my head because it wasn't in a movie. It was real life," the actress said.
Streep did not mention Mr Trump by name, but warned against the consequences of bullying and mockery by high-profile people.
"This instinct to humiliate when it's modelled by someone in the public platform by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody's life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing," she said.
Mr Trump told the New York Times he had not seen the comments but reportedly said he was "not surprised" at the attack by "liberal movie people".
Streep, 67, was at the Beverly Hills awards to pick up her award for outstanding contribution to entertainment.
