Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | Celebrity | November 28, 2023
Celine Song’s Past Lives, a Sundance hit that flew largely under the radar during its summer theatrical run, earned Best Picture at the Gotham Awards ceremony last night, making it a surprise sleeper contender in the Oscar race. That was not, however, the big news to come out of the ceremony, which celebrates independent film.
During a tribute speech to Killers of the Flower Moon, De Niro was compelled to go off-script because, he complained, Apple removed anti-Trump remarks from his teleprompter speech. De Niro nevertheless delivered his political remarks, declining ultimately to thank Apple.
“History isn’t history anymore. Truth isn’t truth, and even facts are being replaced by alternative facts and driven by conspiracy theories and ugliness,” De Niro said during his speech. “In Florida, young students are taught that slaves developed skills that could be applied for their personal benefit. The entertainment industry isn’t immune to this festering disease. The Duke, John Wayne, famously said of Native Americans, ‘I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.’”
“Lying has become just 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’s keeping up the pace with his current campaign of retribution. With all of his lies, he can’t hide his soul. He attacks the weak, destroys the gifts of nature and shows his disrespect for example using Pocahontas as a slur,” De Niro said, concluding the political section of his speech.
De Niro then fumed, “I’m gonna say these things, but to Apple and thank them and all that, Gothams, blah, blah, blah, Apple. But I don’t feel like thanking them at all after what they did. How dare they do that, actually?”
De Niro has spoken out against Donald Trump a number of times over the years. Apple should have considered that before inviting him to deliver a speech on behalf of their film, particularly a film that’s already of a political nature. I’m not trying to tell the richest company in the world how to do their job, but I also don’t think it’s a good idea to pull remarks from a speech without telling Robert De Niro, an accomplished 80-year-old man who doesn’t need this bullsh**.
Anatomy of a Fall and Beef also took home two awards during the ceremony.
via THR
