As Hollywood undergoes its great unmasking amidst allegations that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed and raped women over several decades, Robert De Niro is showing zero humility.
Rather than accept this as a time for self-reflection on his industry’s alleged complicity in a powerful man’s sexual abuse of women, De Niro would rather keep raging like a bull at President Trump.
Speaking at the Annual Hudson River Park Gala on Thursday night, where he was honored with a namesake park bench, Robert De Niro graciously said “F***k you, Donald Trump.”
“One of my pleasures will be keeping people off my bench who don’t deserve a view of the park, like Donald Trump,” said De Niro.
The veteran actor then channeled his inner Jake LaMotta, saying, “F–k you, Donald Trump. It’s a horror with this motherf—er.”
De Niro’s rhetoric echoes previous statements he’s made, including one where he said he’d like to punch Trump in the face.
“I mean, he’s so blatantly stupid. He’s a punk, he’s a dog, he’s a pig, he’s a con, he’s a bullsh*t artist, a mutt who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, doesn’t do his homework, doesn’t care, thinks he’s gaming society, doesn’t pay his taxes,” said De Niro.
“He’s an embarrassment to this country,” He continued. “He talks [about] how he wants to punch people in the face … I’d like to punch him in the face.”
With such rhetoric about President Trump, De Niro must have some strong words to say about Harvey Weinstein’s allegations of rape and sexual assault … Oh wait, that’s right, De Niro has yet to issue a statement on the matter.
Weinstein and De Niro have a long history together; Weinstein produced several movies starring De Niro (Jackie Brown, Silver Linings Playbook). Most recently, De Niro and Weinstein were set to produce an Amazon series alongside director David O. Russel; the recent allegations against Weinstein have torpedoed the project.
Robert De Niro also owns The Tribeca Grill, a restaurant in Manhattan that Weinstein frequented with young women, and where he is alleged to have terrorized the waitstaff and acted like a complete pig to the point of slurping a French onion soup that he would “splatter all over the booth,” according to one waitress’s account.
If De Niro does release a statement, you can just about bet to hear the now oft-repeated phrase among celebrities that they “had no idea” Weinstein was an awful human being.