Robert De Niro Claims Apple Asked to ‘Dial Down’ Political Content in Awards Show Speech

Apple apparently asked Robert De Niro to "dial down" the political aspects of his speech at the Gotham Awards in November, according to the actor.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the Killers of the Flower Moon star clarified what happened behind the scenes after he publicly stated that his speech to accept the film's Historical Icon & Creator tribute had been altered without his knowledge.

"They gave me the script, and I looked at the prompter, and I asked after, 'What happened?' And they assumed that I had spoken to [Martin Scorsese] or somebody about it, but I hadn't," he told the outlet. "They assumed that I would be OK with it, and maybe I'm still getting it wrong, and I wasn't."

De Niro previously claimed his anti-Trump comments were taken out of his speech without his knowledge when it was added to the teleprompter.

"Marty and I spoke about it the next day and he said, 'Yeah, I had sent you a text and [Apple] asked if you could dial it down, respectfully,'" he continued.

"I didn't even want to blame them, but I was annoyed in the moment with whoever did it. If Marty had called me and said, 'Apple asked me to do this and that,' then we would've gone over it," De Niro said. "But I told Marty, 'Everything in that speech is leading up to what this movie is about. And I don't want to take away from the movie. It's not a rant about Trump. It's appropriate.'"

Scorsese also released a statement about the content of De Niro's speech being changed at the last moment, writing: "The Gotham Awards honored the filmmakers and cast with The Historical Icon & Creator tribute, which recognizes significant moments in history and for bringing a story to life in an authentic way on screen."

"We all wanted to make sure that in the limited time available, the acceptance speech had space to acknowledge our Osage collaborators on-stage and at home, as well as our entire cast and filmmaking team," Scorsese wrote. "Apple has been a tremendous partner and there was no censorship. There was an unfortunate miscommunication regarding the final version of the speech. The event was a beautiful moment for our cast and collaborators to be reunited for the first time since the strikes. It was an incredible honor to receive this recognition."

After De Niro criticized former President Trump in discussions about his speech, Trump released his own comments about the actor. He wrote on his Truth Social platform earlier this month, "Robert De Niro, whose acting talents have greatly diminished, with his reputation now shot, must even use a teleprompter for his foul and disgusting language, so disrespectful to our country."

Trump added that the two-time Oscar winner "has become unwatchable both in movies, and with the FOOLS that destroyed the Academy Awards, bringing them from one of the top shows in the country to a low rated afterthought. De Niro should focus on his life, which is a mess, rather than the lives of others. He has become a total loser, as the world watches, waits, and laughs!"

In the RS interview, the actor reacted to Trump's comments about him.

"The problem is that people respond to him. God forbid he did become President — this is a road where, if we go down it, it will be very hard to turn around. As Liz Cheney said, 'He will not leave,'" said De Niro.

Killers of the Flower Moon is now playing in theaters.