Meryl Streep and co-stars attract backlash over Suffragette T-shirt slogan

Meryl Streep and three other cast members of the film Suffragette have been the subject of criticism online, after appearing in a photo shoot last week wearing T-shirts featuring a controversial slogan.

“I’d rather be a rebel than a slave,” the slogan read, quoting a 1913 speech by women’s rights activist Emmeline Pankhurst. The photos were published in Time Out London alongside interviews with Streep, Carey Mulligan, Romola Garai and Anne-Marie Duff.

On Twitter, the photos inspired ire over the alleged racial insensitivity of the use of the quote, which for some carried connotations of the American history of slavery and Confederate rebellion. While some applauded the use of the quote, others were less impressed.

“Meryl Streep has to know better. And if not, her publicist should have,” wrote activist and organizer Deray McKesson.

Pankhurst’s full quote: “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.”

According to Time Out, the quote used on the T-shirts encapsulates the “idea of finding your voice, keeping your nerve and fighting the impulse to be a ‘good girl’” – a powerful theme in the film.

In a statement, Time Out acknowledged it had invited the lead actors from the film to wear the t-shirts with the quote, and said the context of the photoshoot and the feature “were absolutely clear to readers who read the piece” when it was published last week.

“It has been read by at least half a million people in the UK and we have received no complaints,” the publication said.

“The original quote was intended to rouse women to stand up against oppression - it is a rallying cry, and absolutely not intended to criticise those who have no choice but to submit to oppression, or to reference the Confederacy, as some people who saw the quote and photo out of context have surmised.”

Others do not see it that way.

This is the second time in a week that Streep has come under a harsh spotlight. Streep, who portrays Pankhurst in the film, disappointed bloggers by saying in the Time Out interview, when asked if she was a feminist: “I am a humanist, I am for nice, easy balance.”

The film, set for release in the US later this month, centers on the first members of the British women’s suffrage movement.