According to a new rumor, Robert De Niro might bid adieu to the USA and move to Italy. Thus, he would be joining several stars who left the country in the wake of Donald Trump‘s presidential victory. Stars that have reportedly left the US following Trump’s election include Eva Longoria, Rosie O’Donnell, and Ellen DeGeneres. De Niro is a staunch critic of Trump, which only fuels rumors of his departure.
Robert De Niro might leave US for Italy
A new rumor suggests that Robert De Niro will depart the USA and settle in Italy. However, the actor has not officially revealed plans to leave the former.
This rumor comes from The Daily Mail. It comes shortly after the two-time Oscar winner was honored with the Lupa Capitolina, Rome’s top honor. This honor was presented to him in recognition of his artistic achievements by Mayor Roberto Gualtieri at a ceremony in Campidoglio in collaboration with the Rome Film Festival’s independently run Alice in the City sidebar, which focuses on children and youth-oriented films.
The 82-year-old is currently in Rome to inaugurate his Nobu Hotel on Via Veneto. The actor co-founded the hotel chain with American-Israeli film producer-businessman Meir Teper and Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa.
The Goodfellas actor became an Italian citizen in 2006. However, plans to naturalize him were opposed by the Italian-American group Order of the Sons of Italy (OSIA), who accused De Niro of portraying “unflattering and untrue stereotypes” of Italian-Americans via his gangster roles. Notably, De Niro played rising mobster Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II and shrewd criminal James Conway — affiliated with a Mafia family — in the aforementioned Goodfellas.
Sons of Italy faxed the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, demanding that the actor not be honored with citizenship. They also claimed in a statement that he ruined the combined image of Italians and Italian-Americans via his gangster roles.
“He has done nothing to promote Italian culture in the United States,” the statement read (via The Guardian). “Instead, the Osia and its members hold him and his movies responsible for considerably damaging the collective reputations of both Italians and Italian-Americans.”
