Meryl Streep’s Subway Photo: What’s the Truth and What’s Not?

The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, is one of the most prestigious events in the entertainment industry. The awards ceremony annually recognizes outstanding achievements in filmmaking, acting, and production.

However, as the Oscar season approaches, rumors and false information about the actors and films can spread like wildfire on social media and other platforms. In this case, we have found another misleading claim about an actress that could lead to misunderstandings among people.

Recently, we found a Facebook post claiming that a photograph shows Meryl Streep riding the subway after failing the “King Kong” audition with the caption:

“This is me coming home from an audition for King Kong, where I was told I was too ‘ugly’ for the role. It was a momentous moment for me. That ill-intentioned opinion could have shattered my dreams of becoming an actress or forced me to pull myself together and believe in myself. I took a breath and said, ‘I’m sorry you think I’m too ugly for your movie, but yours is just an opinion out of thousands.’ “To this day, I have 18 Oscar nominations.”- Meryl Streep

Source | Archive

This post has spread widely, with over a hundred shares in just a few days.

We found another post with a similar claim circulating since 2018.

Source | Archive

However, upon investigation, we found that some parts of this post are not true.

Fact-Check

To begin our investigation, we used the Reverse Image Search feature to locate the source of the photo. Additionally, we discovered similar claims about this photo that had been fact-checked by Reuters and Snopes.

The results also led us to the LIFE website, where we found the actress’s image. Below the photograph, the caption indicates that the photo was taken in 1981 by a photographer named Ted Thai. While the movie “King Kong” was released in 1976, years before the photo was taken.

Source | Archive

Although this post is based on an underlying truth, it departs from literal accuracy in several aspects. In January 2015, during an appearance on “The Graham Norton Show,” Streep recounted how at the beginning of her film career, she auditioned for the female lead role in a mid-1970s remake of “King Kong,” produced by Italian filmmaker Dino De Laurentiis.

Source: The Graham Norton Show

According to Meryl Streep, during her audition for the 1976 film King Kong, the son of Dino De Laurentiis brought her into the audition room. The producer looked at her and said in Italian, “Why do you bring me this ugly thing?” Streep, who happened to understand Italian, replied in Italian, “I’m sorry I’m not beautiful enough to be in King Kong.”

Furthermore, IMDb‘s record of her awards history shows that Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Oscars 20 times. And she has won three of them so far, but not 18 Oscar awards as the viral posts claimed.

Conclusion

The Facebook post claiming that a photograph shows Meryl Streep riding the subway after failing the “King Kong” audition is misleading. Additionally, the accompanying quote is not from the actress as claimed.