It is, once again, that time of year when actors gather for glitzy galas and give each other awards, droning on endlessly about their “sacrifices” for the “craft.”
And no one does that better than Robert De Niro, the one-trick pony who’s made millions playing the same character over and over.
On Sunday, De Niro was the recipient of the Screen Actors Guild “Life Achievement Award.” De Niro waxed poetic about the grand achievement.
“We as actors don’t do it all alone, we can’t,” he said in opening his acceptance speech. “We depend on each other for collaboration, both onscreen and off.”
But Bobby D does more than just praise himself. The star of “Dirty Grandpa” always likes to get political, and he did so again on Sunday.
De Niro said political leaders who support unions are more likely to also support “the Affordable Care Act, equitable taxes, humane immigration regulation, a safe environment, a diverse citizenry, reproductive rights, sensible gun control, and fair wages and benefits.” He added: “We owe them our support and we owe them our vote.”
Then, as he does, De Niro moved on to President Trump, calling today’s political climate “dire.”
“There’s right and there’s wrong, there’s common sense and there’s abuse of power. And as a citizen, I have as much right as anybody ― an actor, an athlete, a musician, anybody else ― to voice my opinion.”
And De Niro said he plans to use his platform to push his ideology. “If I have a bigger voice because of my situation, I am going to use it whenever I see a blatant abuse of power.” Surprisingly, De Niro then said: “That’s all I’m going to say about that tonight.”
Sadly, the actors winning awards have refused to take the sound advice comedian Ricky Gervais gave them when he hosted the Golden Globe awards earlier this month.
“If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a political platform to make a political speech,” he told the crowd of limousine liberals. “You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything, you know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So, if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your God — and f*** off. OK?”
De Niro certainly doesn’t adhere to that philosophy. Last May, he was a presenter at the American Icon Awards, where he once again bashed Trump.
“You didn’t think you were gonna’ completely get away without a f*** Trump moment, did you?” the actor said.
“The individual who currently purports to lead America is not worthy of any tribute,” De Niro said at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. His comments were met with boos. “Unless you think of his impeachment and imprisonment as a sort of tribute — now that’s how you can make America great again.”
“I’m happy to stand … tonight to support the First Amendment,” De Niro said. “The right of the president to be a relentless and unrepentant, lying scumbag, the right of his supporters to not give a s***, and our right to do something about it.”
In June 2018, De Niro used his time on stage at the Tony Awards to shout “f*** Trump!”
Trump has fired back at the actor. “Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received too many shots to the head by real boxers in movies,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I watched him last night and truly believe he may be ‘punch-drunk.’”
“I guess he doesn’t realize the economy is the best it’s ever been with employment being at an all-time high, and many companies pouring back into our country,” Trump wrote.