Donald Trump might not have attended the Golden Globes and have claimed not to have watched Hollywood's first award show of the year but his presence could certainly be felt in the room. This was most notable during Meryl Streep’s emotionally charged acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award.

While the actress did not name him once, she rebuked the President-elect for imitating a disabled reporter. Streep declared that it was the one performance this year which shocked her and argued it “gives permission” for others to do the same.

This is a reference to when Mr Trump mocked the New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski.

“There was one performance this year that stunned me. It sank its hooks in my heart,” Streep said in front of a visibly shocked audience. “Not because it was good, there was nothing good about it, but it was effective and it did its job."

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“It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter. Someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when 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 Republican billionaire hit back by dismissing Streep as a “Hillary lover” in an interview with the New York Times. He also denied mocking Mr Kovaleski.

“I was never mocking anyone. I was calling into question a reporter who had gotten nervous because he had changed his story”, he said. “People keep saying I intended to mock the reporter’s disability, as if Meryl Streep and others could read my mind, and I did no such thing.”

Back in November 2015, Mr Trump was widely condemned for mocking a reporter’s disability during a campaign speech.

The Republican imitated The New York Times’ culture and investigative reporter during a rally for supporters in South Carolina.

Mr Kovaleski suffers from arthrogryposis, a congenital condition affecting how his joints move.

Mr Trump made several offensive gestures while defending a claim he made a few days earlier in which he said he had witnessed thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating on the day of the 9/11 attacks.

This claim has reportedly since been discredited by government and law officials who were in New Jersey in the days following the terrorist attack.

A 2001 article written by Mr Kovaleski for the Washington Post had claimed that “authorities detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river” in Jersey city, within hours of the planes crashing into the World Trade Centre.

But Mr Kovaleski told CNN this week: “We did a lot of shoe leather reporting in and around Jersey City and talked to a lot of residents and officials for the broader story. Much of that has, indeed, faded from memory.

“But I do not recall anyone saying there were thousands, or even hundreds, of people celebrating. That was not the case, as best as I can remember it.”

Mr Trump was referencing these comments during his speech when he imitated Mr Kovaleski.

He said: “The poor guy. You’ve got to see this guy. Ah, I don’t remember what I said! I don’t remember!”, while jerking his arms and hands in a manner mocking Mr Kovaleski’s condition.

The presidential candidate’s campaign spokeswoman declined to comment on the incident, but another campaign official said the entrepreneur was “not aware of any condition and was not mocking his physical appearance in any way,” according to the Washington Post.

The official added that Mr Trump “was merely emphasising the uncertainty of the verbal/written statement provided by the reporter in regards to his article”.

It is understood that Mr Trump is familiar with Mr Kovaleski as the latter covered him while a reporter for the New York Daily News in the late 1980s to early 1990s.

The New York Times has said it was “outrageous” for Mr Trump to have ridiculed Mr Kovaleski’s appearance.

“We think it’s outrageous that he would ridicule the appearance of one of our reporters,” a spokeswoman for the newspaper said at the time.

Following the incident, Mr Kovaleski said: “The sad part about it is, it didn’t in the slightest bit jar or surprise me that Donald Trump would do something this low-rent, given his track record,” reports the Washington Post.