Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Robert De Niro asked to give acceptance speech for award, delivers second warning against Donald Trump instead

'It's hard for me to think about anything else,' says the actor 

Heather Saul
Monday 07 November 2016 12:39 GMT
Comments
Robert De Niro asked to give acceptance speech for award, delivers second warning against Donald Trump instead

When Robert De Niro was asked what he cared about for a non-partisan campaign to get people to vote, his answer became one of the most memorable and stinging tirades against Donald Trump during this election cycle.

“He's so blatantly stupid," said De Niro. "He's a punk, he's a dog, he's a pig [...] a mutt who [...] doesn't do his homework, doesn't care. He's an idiot. Colin Powell said it best: He's a national disaster. He's an embarrassment to this country."

The Silver Linings Playbook actor, 73, was invited onto the stage at the Hollywood Film Awards to accept the Hollywood Comedy Award on Sunday evening. Despite being at an apolitical event, he couldn’t help himself once again.

When he was asked to deliver his acceptance speech at the ceremony, he delivered another broadside against the Republican nominee instead.

“I know we are here to celebrate movies in Hollywood […] but it’s two days until a frightening election," he said. "The shadow of politics is hanging over us whether we like it or not.

“It's hard for me to think about anything else so let me just lay it out right here. We have the opportunity to prevent a comedy from turning into a tragedy. Vote for Hillary Tuesday.”

High-profile support for Mr Trump's Democratic rival has been ramped up in the final days before the election with Beyonce and Jay Z delivering an eleventh-hour endorsement at a rally in Cleveland ahead of the 8 November results. Mr Trump, meanwhile, has suggested such a widespread show of A-list support is “like cheating”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in