Robert De Niro’s quick stop in Italy has landed him in the middle of a firestorm the Oscar winner likely didn’t see coming.
The 82-year-old actor jetted to Rome on Thursday to receive the city’s highest honor, the Lupa Capitolina, celebrating his ‘cultural, civic, and humanitarian’ contributions.
But the trip has stirred controversy — with critics accusing the Taxi Driver legend, a longtime Donald Trump opponent, of ‘joining the exodus’ of liberal stars ditching the U.S. for Europe as political tensions rise back home.
Things escalated further on Friday when De Niro visited the Vatican and met with Pope Leo XIV, a pontiff already under fire for his own allegedly anti-Trump leanings.
In viral clips, the pair are seen warmly shaking hands, exchanging pleasantries and smiling for cameras before the Pope presented the actor with a rosary.
The footage quickly ignited outrage online, with some blasting the Vatican for prioritizing celebrity meet-and-greets over ordinary worshippers.
Roebrt De Niro visited the Vatican and met with Pope Leo XIV on Friday
The pair are seen warmly shaking hands, exchanging pleasantries and smiling for cameras before the Pope presented the actor with a rosary
One fumed: ‘What’s with Leo’s fawning of Hollywood celebrities like a pre-pubescent school girl with a crush?’
Another sneered: ‘Birds of a feather: two extreme lefties greeting each other.’
A third commented: ‘His Holiness following the same path as Pope Francis, walking alongside every famous liberal and progressive figure.’
One critic chimed in: ‘Pope is revealing himself day by day as a liberal.’
Another frustrated Catholic wrote: ‘This isn’t good. Many ordinary Catholics would love to meet the Pope but now the Vatican brings in Hollywood actors who have said terrible things against God and who aren’t Christian.’
One suggested the meeting had political undertones, saying: ‘The rewards for cursing the president. Or maybe De Niro will use the rosary to pray for Trump?’
Others mocked the optics, with one viral comment reading: ‘I do seriously wonder what it is with Popes and movie celebrities. Like… who arranges this stuff? “Hi Bob… this Pope Bob. Next time you are in Rome stop by.” “Sure. How about beginning of November?” “Great. We’ll keep a slot open for you.” And why De Niro? Is the message “I hate Trump, too”? Just… what?’
One simply blasted the meeting as ‘HORRIFYING!’
The footage quickly ignited outrage online, with some blasting the Vatican for prioritizing celebrity meet-and-greets over ordinary worshippers
The meeting quickly sparked backlash online
Still, not everyone was outraged. Some defended the encounter as a harmless gesture of goodwill.
One fan explained: ‘De Niro was in Rome receiving the Lupa Capitolina award and the meeting was arranged for him to attend with another group. You are all making too much of it.
‘My own brother met Pope John Paul II the same way. Popes often meet people as good will gestures. That’s their job.’
The viral outrage comes after De Niro fueled speculation he might be planning a permanent move abroad, looking overjoyed as he accepted the Lupa Capitolina from Mayor Roberto Gualtieri.
The ceremony comes nearly 20 years after De Niro was at the center of a citizenship controversy, when an Italian-American group tried to block Italy’s plan to honor him, claiming he’d spent his career portraying ‘unflattering and untrue stereotypes’ of Italian-Americans.
In August 2004, the Order of the Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) — based in Washington, D.C. — publicly condemned the plan, accusing the Oscar winner of having ‘made a career of playing gangsters of Italian descent,’ per The Guardian.
‘He has done nothing to promote Italian culture in the United States. Instead, the OSIA and its members hold him and his movies responsible for considerably damaging the collective reputations of both Italians and Italian-Americans,” the group said in a statement.
De Niro’s career has long been defined by his portrayals of Italian-Americans and gangster figures, roles that made him an iconic figure in Hollywood.
De Niro, who currently resides in New York City, had fans wondering if he’s preparing to cross the pond for good after he looked thrilled accepting Rome’s top honor, the Lupa Capitolina, from Mayor Roberto Gualtieri on Thursday
From the ruthless mobster in The Godfather: Part II to the cunning criminal in Goodfellas, his performances often leaned into the very stereotypes the group criticized.
Even in lighter fare, such as the animated Shark Tale, he brought his signature gangster persona to the character, reinforcing his on-screen association with Italian mob figures.
OSIA was particularly angered by De Niro’s portrayal of a godfather-like figure in Steven Spielberg’s animated film Shark Tale.
OSIA even demanded that DreamWorks edit what it called the film’s ‘most offensive aspects’ at the time.
DreamWorks pushed back, saying the outrage was misplaced.
The ceremony comes nearly 20 years after De Niro was at the center of a citizenship controversy, when an Italian-American group tried to block Italy’s plan to honor him, claiming he’d spent his career portraying ‘unflattering and untrue stereotypes’ of Italian-Americans; (pictured in 1990’s Goodfellas)
In August 2004, the Order of the Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) — based in Washington, D.C. — publicly condemned the plan, accusing the Oscar winner of having ‘made a career of playing gangsters of Italian descent,’ (pictured 1974’s Godfather II)
Spokesman Andy Spahn told reporters, ‘This organization has not even seen the film, so we are somewhat perplexed.
‘It’s an animated movie about colourful fish. I can’t see how that can offend anyone.’
At the time, OSIA warned that giving De Niro such an honor would insult millions of Italian-Americans who viewed his filmography as a ‘distorted and unbalanced portrayal’ of their heritage. per the outlet.
Despite the backlash in the U.S., many Italians supported the Taxi Driver star’s recognition.
In Ferrazzano — the tiny village De Niro’s great-grandparents left in the 19th century — locals have long celebrated him as one of their own.
The Guardian reported in 2004 that the village’s 3,000 residents hosted an annual festival devoted entirely to his films, gathering each August to honor his work.
De Niro, born in New York in 1943, does not qualify for an Italian passport because neither his parents nor grandparents were born in Italy.
He has never visited the village himself, according to the outlet.
Still, locals remained fiercely proud of their connection to him, describing the actor as a symbol of their immigrant success story, according to the outlet.
