At the recent Gotham Awards in New York, legendary actor Robert De Niro unexpectedly revealed that a segment of his speech had been surreptitiously edited, exacerbating his scathing remarks about Donald Trump. Initially perplexed by discrepancies on the autocue, De Niro informed the audience, “The beginning of my speech was edited and cut out. I didn’t know about it.”
Undeterred, he retrieved the unaltered script from his phone, lambasting Trump’s “lies” and delving into the erosion of truth in contemporary society. De Niro lamented the distortion of historical narratives, citing examples such as misleading portrayals of slaves’ skills for personal gain.
Struggling with the autocue, he expressed frustration, apologised for the disruption, and seamlessly transitioned to reading the unedited portions from his phone. The seasoned actor decried the prevalence of falsehoods, targeting not only Trump but also drawing attention to actor John Wayne’s controversial remarks about Native Americans.
De Niro passionately asserted, “Lying has become just another tool in the charlatan’s arsenal,” and criticised Trump’s divisive tactics. Expressing disdain for the editing of his speech, he questioned, “How dare they do that, actually?”
Despite being scheduled to express gratitude to the Gotham Awards and Apple for their involvement in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” De Niro refused to extend thanks, stating, “But I don’t feel like thanking them at all for what they did.”
In a surprising turn, De Niro proceeded to introduce his co-stars and accept the Historical Icon and Creator Tribute Award. Among them, Lily Gladstone, also awarded for her lead performance in “The Unknown Country,” added an unexpected twist to the ceremony. The top film prize was awarded to “Past Lives,” a poignant drama centred around childhood sweethearts separated by immigration.
The French drama “Anatomy of a Fall” secured two awards, while the Netflix series “Beef” triumphed in two TV categories. De Niro’s unscripted critique added an unexpected layer of controversy to the commencement of this year’s film awards season.
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