Robert De Niro was fuming on Monday night when a supposedly edited speech he delivered via prompter resulted in him messing up his lines.
The 80-year-old acting icon was in attendance at the Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York City to give a speech in honor of his critically acclaimed western crime epic “Killers Of The Flower Moon,” which starred his longtime friend and collaborator Martin directed by Scorsese.
But during the speech that preceded him accepting the Gotham Historical Icon and Creator Tribute Award on behalf of the film, the Taxi Driver star appeared confused and paused before backtracking and trying to explain had upset him.
De Niro – who was joined at the Gotham Awards by his co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone – made it clear that he had originally planned to make several harsh remarks about former President Donald Trump, but he apparently blamed the awards show and Apple , who produced the whole Killers Of The Flower Moon, edited his comments.
Trump has long been despised by De Niro, and the star has bashed him mercilessly for years since he stepped up his public criticism ahead of the 2016 election. Last month, De Niro sent a statement to be read in his absence at the Stop Trump Summit organized by The New Republic magazine.
Out of his element: 80-year-old Robert De Niro slurred his lines and appeared confused after part of his anti-Trump speech was allegedly edited out without his knowledge at the 2023 Gotham Awards on Monday
Acceptance: De Niro paid tribute to his new film Killers Of The Flower Moon (pictured) and accepted the Gotham Historical Icon and Creator Tribute Award on his behalf
“I’ll go back.” I’m sorry. Okay, there was a mistake. I will continue. Just keep scrolling,” he said at the Gotham Awards, clearly frustrated, via Variety. “Filmmakers, on the other hand, are striving – that’s where I came in and saw that they had cut all that.”
“I just want to say one thing,” De Niro continued. “The beginning of my speech was edited, cut out, and I didn’t know about it.” And I want to read it.
“History is no longer a story.” Truth is not truth. Even facts are being replaced by alternative facts and pushed forward by conspiracy theories and ugliness,” he said as he addressed his earlier comments.
“In Florida, young students are taught that slaves were taught skills that they could use for their personal gain,” De Niro continued. “The entertainment industry is not immune to this festering disease.”
He also referenced a racist statement from a 1971 Playboy interview with John Wayne.
“Duke John Wayne famously said of Native Americans, “I don’t think we did any wrong in taking this great land from them.” There were large numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians selfishly tried to keep it for themselves.”
“Lying has become another tool in the charlatan’s arsenal.” The former president lied to us more than 30,000 times during his four years in office. And he is maintaining the pace of his current campaign of retaliation. But despite all his lies, he cannot hide his soul,” De Niro continued. “He attacks the weak, destroys nature’s gifts and shows disrespect, for example by using Pocahontas as a curse word.”
Finally, De Niro criticized the Gotham Awards and Killers Of The Flower Moon producer Apple, whom he appeared to blame for editing out some of his remarks.
After saying he had gotten to the part of his speech where he was supposed to thank Apple and the Gotham Awards, he said, “But I don’t feel like thanking them at all for what they’ve done.”
“I just want to say one thing,” De Niro continued. “The beginning of my speech was edited, cut out, and I didn’t know about it. ‘And I want to read it’
Angry: He criticized right-wing laws passed across the country in recent years and attacked former President Donald Trump
No Shame: In the end, he said that he would normally thank his film’s producer, Apple, and the Gotham Awards, but he didn’t feel like doing that anymore. “How dare you do that?” he said in horror
Credits: De Niro was surrounded on stage by DiCaprio and several Native American actors and members of the Osage Nation, who advised on the making of the film
“How dare they actually do that? But now I will accept the award…” he concluded before Killers Of The Flower Moon was presented with the Gotham Historical Icon and Creator Tribute.
De Niro was surrounded on stage by DiCaprio and several Native American actors and members of the Osage Nation, who advised on the making of the film.
The film, based on the non-fiction book of the same name by David Grann, details how the Osage Nation became one of the richest people in the world in the early 20th century after they were forced to relocate seemingly worthless land in Oklahoma. It turns out that it was flush with oil.
However, white members of the community began stealing the tribe’s money by declaring many members “incompetent” and placing them under conservatorships.
Others were murdered by their white spouses to collect their share of the oil money, sometimes by poisoning; others were simply shot or even killed with explosives.
The Reign of Terror and the investigation into it eventually led to the creation of the modern FBI.
So far, the epic film has received rave reviews, with critics particularly highlighting De Niro, DiCaprio and Gladstone.
Gladstone won one of the top prizes at the ceremony, although surprisingly not for Killers.
Instead, she won outstanding actress for “The Unknown Country,” an indie drama in which she plays a woman who goes on a road trip after the death of the grandmother she was caring for.
Dark: His film Killers Of The Flower Moon describes how members of the Osage Nation were murdered by whites in their community after oil was discovered on their land
Catching up: De Niro chatted with his co-star Lily Gladstone, who won one of the top acting awards for “The Unknown Country,” while he sat with his girlfriend Tiffany Chen
Related: Earlier in the evening, De Niro was spotted arriving at the Gotham Awards with girlfriend Tiffany Chen
Lucky number seven: In May this year, he announced that the couple had welcomed a child, his seventh
Out and about: Tiffany was seen entering the building – and bypassing the red carpet – while wearing an all-black ensemble, and De Niro was dressed in a dark suit
The win will likely establish Gladstone as an Oscar front-runner, although she is much more likely to be nominated for Killers Of The Flower Moon.
Earlier in the evening, De Niro was spotted arriving at the Gotham Awards with girlfriend Tiffany Chen.
In May this year, he announced that the couple had welcomed a child, his seventh.
Tiffany was seen entering the building – and bypassing the red carpet – while wearing an all-black ensemble, and De Niro was dressed in a dark suit.