Robert De Niro Censored By Apple During Awards Speech
Robert De Niro’s Speech at the 33rd Annual Gotham Awards was allegedly edited by Apple without his knowledge, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
When the Killers of the Flower Moon actor took to the stage to introduce the Historical Icon and Creator Tribute award for the Scorsese film, he noticed that the teleprompter removed the parts of his speech that were politically charged, and critical of former President Donald Trump.
Robert De Niro Speech Censored
After taking out his cell phone and reading the part of the speech that was edited out, De Niro refused to thank Apple, the company behind the film’s production, and blamed them for editing the speech.
The unabridged speech highlighted the 80-year-old actor’s disdain for the former president and suggested that Donald Trump lied to the media and the public over 30,000 times during his time in office.
Speech Edited
Not at first knowing that this part of his speech was edited out before presenting the award, Robert De Niro first read what was on the teleprompter, and then continued, “The beginning of my speech was edited, cut out, and I didn’t know about it, and I want to read it.”
Current State Of Media And Politics
Robert De Niro’s unedited speech was met with applause, and painted a bleak picture about the current state of media and politics.
The main point that he wanted to drive home was that using alternative facts and outright lying has taken center stage over seeking the truth in both politics and entertainment.
He referred to these acts of deception as a festering disease and suggested that despite Trump’s lies and manipulation tactics, he cannot hide his soul.
Killers Of The Flower Moon Cast
After a brief applause from the audience, Robert De Niro read the opening to his speech as he would have liked it to be presented before introducing Lily Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Yancey Redcorn, Talee Redcorn, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, Jillian Dion, JaNae Collins, and William Belleau to accept the award on Scorsese’s behalf.
He then chastised Apple for cutting down his speech ahead of the presentation, and not informing him.
Publicly Critical Of President
This isn’t the first time Robert De Niro has been publicly critical of the former president. During the 2018 Tony Awards, he shouted profanity before taking the stage, and it’s clear that he wanted to use whatever influence he had to get his point across.
De Niro also famously criticized Trump while appearing on Michael Moore’s Rumble podcast in 2019, when he stated that Trump’s time in office kept Americans from feeling safe, which should be a top priority for whoever is in office.
Seeking The Truth
Killers of the Flower Moon centers on the Osage Indian murders, and the remainder of Robert De Niro’s speech highlighted the fact that filmmakers like Martin Scorsese use their art form to expose harsh truths and moments in history that often get swept under the rug by popular media.
The part of his speech that was edited out poignantly illustrated how filmmakers seek the truth that other outlets try to avoid.
Robert De Niro blamed Apple for censoring his full speech, but as of this writing, reps for both the Gotham Awards and Apple have not made any comments about the incident.
