While he participated in the Gotham Awards ceremony in New York on Monday, which recognizes independent cinema, American actor Robert De Niro decried having been a victim of censorship.
On stage to accept an award on behalf of the cast of Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert De Niro appeared slightly confused while reading his speech over the teleprompter.
“The beginning of my speech was edited, cut, and I didn’t know it,” he said after a while.
He then took out his cell phone to read his original speech, which contained passages denouncing Donald Trump.
“The former president lied to us more than 30,000 times during his four years in office, and he continues to do so with his current campaign of revenge. Despite all his lies, he cannot hide his soul. He preys on the weak, destroys the gifts of nature and shows disrespect,” said the actor who plays Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon.
At the end of his speech, Robert De Niro appeared to blame Apple, which produced the feature, and the ceremony’s organizers for changing his text.