Video purporting to show Robert De Niro shouting at pro-Palestine protesters is actually from Netflix project
clip shows Robert De Niro acting out scripted lines while working on an upcoming Netflix series
CLAIM
Videos posted across social media platforms claimed to show the actor Robert De Niro shouting at pro-Palestine protesters in New York.
BACKGROUND
A clip of Robert De Niro went viral on social media this week, showing the actor shouting as a crowd was gathered around him: “This is not a movie. This is real. Right now you gotta listen, you gotta work, you gotta get that job done.”
Parts of the video are inaudible, but the actor then goes on to say: “… like you’re talking nonsense, then you gotta go home.”
“They say they’re going to do it again! Again! You don’t want that. None of us want that. Come on! Let’s all get serious,” he added.
Pro-Israel accounts shared the clip widely, like this one that was shared on X on May 1 and was viewed over 250,000 times.
The claims were also carried in Israeli news outlets, such as Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post. Haaretz has since removed the article — which claimed De Niro “added his voice to the pro-Israel movement” — from its website, while the Jerusalem Post edited and included this statement on the amended version: “This article was edited from an original version, which mistakenly reported that De Niro was yelling at pro-Palestinian protesters. We have retracted this issue in the article.”
METHOD
The video of Robert De Niro had a wide reach and led to the actor’s name trending on X. It prompted news outlets to contact De Niro’s publicist, who went on the record in several outlets to deny the claim that he was speaking to protesters.
Representatives for Netflix and Robert De Niro told USA TODAY that he was rehearsing for his role in Zero Day, a Netflix political thriller series that is currently in production.
“The video was a small snippet from the Netflix series ‘Zero Day’, where the character played by De Niro is screaming at a group [of] paid extras. This was 100% scripted,” De Niro’s representative was quoted as saying in an email.
Confirmation from the actor’s publicist, Stan Rosenfield, that the video was taken out of context was also carried on CNN, Variety, and the Independent, among others.
Variety cited Rosenfield as saying: “Someone copied the post and fabricated an entirely different and bogus meaning.” It also reported that Netflix confirmed the speech was from the series’ script.
Images captured on location while a crew was filming Zero Day in New York City can be found in the Getty Images library, where Robert De Niro is wearing the same clothing as seen in the clip.
From this analysis, we concluded that the clip of Robert De Niro is genuine but was misrepresented when it was claimed to have anything to do with pro-Palestinian protesters in New York City.
RATING
The clip shows Robert De Niro acting out scripted lines while working on an upcoming Netflix series.
SOURCES
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: Robert De Niro surprised me [Accessed 2 May 2024].
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF (2024). Robert De Niro filming mistaken for confrontation with protesters. [online] The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com [Accessed 2 May 2024].
USA TODAY (2024). Robert De Niro accused of berating pro-Palestinian protesters during filming for Netflix show. [online] USA TODAY. [Accessed 2 May 2024].
Andreeva, N. (2023). Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Plemons, Joan Allen & Connie Britton In ‘Zero Day’. [online] Deadline. [Accessed 2 May 2024].
Saperstein, P. (2024). Robert De Niro Filming Show, Not Shouting at Protestors in Viral Video. [online] Variety. [Accessed 2 May 2024].
Wagmeister, E. (2024). Robert De Niro wasn’t shouting at pro-Palestinian protesters in viral video. He’s filming a TV show. [online] CNN. [Accessed 2 May 2024].
Perry, K. E. G. (2024). Robert De Niro denies shouting at pro-Palestine protestors in viral clip. [online] The Independent. [Accessed 2 May 2024].