Robert De Niro says Apple, Gotham Awards cut his anti-Trump speech: 'How dare they do that'

NEW YORK – On Monday, the stars aligned at Cipriani Wall Street for the first major awards show since the actors strike ended.

Bradley Cooper and Margot Robbie were among the A-list honorees at the 2023 Gotham Awards, where Celine Song's wistful "Past Lives" won the top prize for best feature. But the night took a tense turn when Robert De Niro got on stage to present a tribute to "Killers of the Flower Moon," Martin Scorsese's searing historical drama about a string of murders targeting the oil-rich Osage Nation.

De Niro appeared flustered as he read his remarks from a teleprompter, which scrolled back and forth as he attempted to find his place. After a short video played, the actor insisted that part of his introduction was removed without notice.

"The beginning of my speech was edited, cut out and I didn't know about it. And I want to read it," De Niro said, pulling out his phone as the crowd looked on in surprise. "History isn't history anymore. Truth is not truth. Even facts are being replaced by alternative facts and driven by conspiracy theories and ugliness. In Florida, young students are taught that slaves were taught skills that could be applied for their personal benefit. The entertainment industry isn't immune to this festering disease."

He went on to call out racist comments by Hollywood icon John Wayne and former President Donald Trump.

"Lying has become just another tool in the charlatan's arsenal," De Niro said. "The former president lied to us more than 30,000 times during his four years in office. And he's keeping up the pace in his current campaign of retribution. But with all his lies, he can't hide his soul. He attacks the weak, destroys the gifts of nature and shows disrespect, for example, by using 'Pocahontas' as a slur," a reference to Trump's nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

De Niro earned loud cheers throughout his unfiltered speech, which finished with harsh words for the Gotham Awards as well as Apple, a producer and distributor of "Flower Moon."

"This is where I came in and I saw that they had edited all that," De Niro said. "So I'm going to say these things but to Apple and thank them and all that. Gotham, blah blah blah, Apple. But I don't really feel like thanking them at all for what they did. How dare they do that, actually."

USA TODAY has reached out to Apple and the Gotham Awards for comment.

‘Maybe we’re all capable of this’:Martin Scorsese on chilling ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Lily Gladstone, Charles Melton get Oscar boost with acting wins

Lily Gladstone, an early Oscar front-runner for best actress, delivered a pair of stirring and heartfelt speeches as she accepted a Gotham tribute award for "Flower Moon" and won outstanding lead performance for "The Unknown Country."

"Hello, my friends. My name is Lily Gladstone and I come from the Blackfeet Nation," she said to applause. "Being a Native actress, oftentimes people assume that there is a Native American language. There are 574 federally recognized tribes in this country, all with different languages, different dialects, different cultures and different histories." Through Scorsese's film, "we have a glimpse into a very underrepresented period of time with the Osage opening their doors to us."

Charles Melton, an alum of the CW's "Riverdale," also received an enthusiastic standing ovation from his "May December" co-stars Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. He won the ultra-competitive trophy for outstanding supporting performance, besting "Barbie" star Ryan Gosling.

"This is heavy. This is awesome," Melton said as he lifted his award. "I just think about the 23 days we spent in Savannah, Georgia, filming. It was the greatest experience of my career."

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The full list of 2023 Gotham Awards winners:

Best feature: "Past Lives"

Outstanding lead performance: Lily Gladstone, "The Unknown Country"

Outstanding supporting performance: Charles Melton, "May December"

Best screenplay: "Anatomy of a Fall"

Best international feature: "Anatomy of a Fall"

Best documentary feature: "Four Daughters"

Breakthrough director: A.V. Rockwell, "A Thousand and One"

Outstanding performance in a new series: Ali Wong, "Beef"

Breakthrough television over 40 minutes: "A Small Light"

Breakthrough television under 40 minutes: "Beef"