Not a good look for Apple. Not a good look for anyone involved actually. Actor Robert De Niro says Apple employees removed a portion of his speech from the teleprompter at the Gotham Awards. And according to Variety an edited version of the speech was uploaded to the prompter minutes before the ceremony kicked off by someone claiming they were an Apple employee.
Of course there’s a denial or two with the company claiming they were just responding to the filmmakers trying to keep De Niro’s remarks focused on the movie, Killers of the Flower Moon.
Not one to shy away and play the game, De Niro, in his acceptance speech called out the problem, pulled out his phone and read the original. The text of which is below.
“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 developed skills which can be applied for their personal benefit.
The entertainment industry isn’t immune to this festering disease. The Duke, John Wayne, famously said of Native Americans, ‘I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.’
Lying has become just another tool in the charlatan’s arsenal. 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.”
Concluding his remarks De Niro said he had planned to thank Apple and the Gotham Film & Media Institute “But I don’t feel like thanking them at all anymore.”
Not too hard to imagine future awards shows confiscating smartphones before presenters and speakers take the stage going forward.
You can watch De Niro’s full remarks in the video below.
Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3 