“ We were both married to my husband ” George Clooney

© Karwai Tang / WireImage; Jeff Spicer / WireImage; VALERIE MACON / AFP via Getty Images
Meryl Streep and George Clooney voiced Married Foxes in the 2009 animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox

Amal Clooney has a very unique bond with Meryl Streep.

After the 71-year-old Oscar-winning actress presented Amal, 42, with the 2020 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award at the CPJ International Press Freedom Awards on Thursday, Amal teased Streep in her acceptance speech for the relationship. actress with famous human rights lawyer husband, George Clooney.

“You are an inspiration as a woman, as an artist, as a press freedom advocate,” Amal told Streep during the ceremony online. “I know I can never hope to win the number of awards you have won, but it occurs to me that we have something special in common, which is that we were both married to my husband. .

George Clooney says it’s ‘so much fun’ watching Chrissy Teigen cheer on her internet trolls

Click to enlarge

NEXT

“And honestly, the fact that you did it as Mr. and Mrs. Fantastic Fox makes it so much less awkward,” she joked.

© Provided by people
Karwai Tang / WireImage; Jeff Spicer / WireImage; VALERIE MACON / AFP via Getty Images

RELATED: Meryl Streep to Present Amal Clooney with Prestigious Freedom Award at Event Hosted by Lester Holt

While their romance only lived on the big screen, Streep and George voiced married foxes in Wes Anderson’s 2009 stop-motion animated film. Fantastic Mr. Fox.

The comedy, based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name, was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature. The film also stars Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Willem Dafoe.

© Provided by people
Twentieth Century-Fox Film / Kobal / Shutterstock

Four years later Fantastic Mr. Fox, George met his wife Amal. The couple got engaged in April 2014 and tied the knot in a lavish Italian wedding in September.

In a recent GQ interview, George told the outlet that all of his priorities changed after meeting Amal.

RELATED: George Clooney Thought He Would Never Marry Or Have Children Before Amal: ‘Then Everything Changed’

“I was like, ‘I’m never gonna get married. I’m not going to have kids, “” George, 59, said in the interview of his life before meeting Amal. “I’m going to work, I have very good friends, my life is busy, I’m fine. And I didn’t know how empty it was until I met Amal. And then everything changed. Like, ‘Oh, actually, that’s been a huge empty space.’ “

Never miss a story – sign up for PEOPLEthe free daily newsletter of to stay up to date on the best that PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

George went on to say that marriage changed him “because I had never been in a situation where someone else’s life was infinitely more important to me than mine. You know? And then two other people, who are small and need to be fed. “

The couple then welcomed twins Ella and Alexander in July 2017.