In defending the role of outsiders on the silver screen, Streep added: “Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners and if we kick them all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.”

While saying he didn’t rate sport or art as superior to the other, Kavanagh robustly hit back at that sleight on MMA.

“You've known nothing but extreme wealth and privilege your whole life, so don't look down your nose at sport which has probably helped a lot more people than the expensive drama schools you attended,” said Kavanagh in a Facebook post.

The full text of Kavanagh’s response is included below:

“A lot has been made of Meryl Streep's 'calling out' of Mixed Martial Arts as not being 'the arts'. She's 100% right, it's sport. I was just impressed she said mixed martial arts and not 'cage fighting'.

“People probably got a little defensive with the way she was clearly saying 'the arts' were so much superior to 'sport'. What would we ever do without Hollywood!!? The great American writer Joseph Campbell said the closest he ever came to a truly spiritual experience was through athletics.

“I wouldn't like to think of one activity better than the other - sport or art. Just do whatever you enjoy.

“I think people's main issue with her teary well acted speech was that she tried to pass herself, and the rest of her ultra rich and ultra entitled liberal friends, off as 'an outsider'.

“Yes Meryl, you're just like an illegal immigrant or starving refugee. Fuck off. Just carry on adding to your 100s of millions you've earned from playing pretend.

“You've known nothing but extreme wealth and privilege your whole life, so don't look down your nose at sport which has probably helped a lot more people than the expensive drama schools you attended.

“Happy Tuesday haha!”