By: Emilia Stankeviciute
May 9 2024
No, Robert De Niro did not confront pro-Palestinian protesters to express his support for Israel
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Screenshot of the video shared online. (Source: Threads/X/Modified by Logically Facts)
Fact-Check
The Verdict False
Robert De Niro was not involved in a real confrontation with pro-Palestinian protesters - he was acting in a scripted television series.
Claim ID 1c59276d
Context
A viral video is circulating on social media that claims to show Robert De Niro confronting pro-Palestinian protesters in New York, expressing his support for Israel and condemning the protesters' behavior.
The video was widely shared on X, where it has over 110,000 views, and Threads, where it received more than 280 likes.
In the 34-second video, De Niro can be heard yelling at the crowd: "This is not a movie! Move behind the barricade. You like talking nonsense? Then you got to go home!"
"That’s dangerous and they say they’re going to do it again! Again! You don’t want that. You don’t want that. None of us want that. C’mon. Let’s all get serious," he continues.
The caption on Threads accompanying the video claimed the actor "slams anti-Israel protesters in New York."
Screenshot of the video shared online. (Source: Threads/X/Screenshots)
In fact
Robert De Niro’s publicist clarified that the actor was filming a scene for the new Netflix series "Zero Day" and that the video was taken out of context. "Robert De Niro [was] reading lines as written in the script," the publicist told CNN on May 2.
According to Netflix, in the series "Zero Day," Robert De Niro will portray George Mullen, a former U.S. president who is drawn out of retirement to head a commission that investigates a catastrophic global cyber-attack.
Actor Jesse Plemons, who co-stars in "Zero Day," is clearly visible standing behind De Niro in the video.
This is not the first time De Niro has been entangled in a controversy related to Israel. In October 2023, a quote falsely attributed to the actor circulated online and accused the U.S. of instigating the conflict in Palestine.
Screenshot of the false quote. (Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
However, there is no evidence that De Niro ever made such a statement. This alleged quote, which has been spreading online for at least a decade, supposedly originated from an interview on Fox News, but there is no record of such an interview having taken place.
Verdict
The claim that Robert De Niro was involved in a confrontation with pro-Palestinian protesters is false. The actor was participating in a scripted film shoot for a television series, and his lines were taken out of context.