The Gotham Awards, presented by the Gotham Film & Media Institute, found their winners at a ceremony held last night.
80-year-old Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro took the stage at the ceremony held in New York to present the "Historical Icon and Creator Tribute" award for Martin Scorsese's film "Killers of the Flower Moon," in which he stars alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone.
After a long video featuring Osage Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear was played, De Niro read the speech he had prepared on stage and stated that the beginning of his speech had been cut.
The famous actor then took out his phone and read the unedited version of his speech from it.
'HISTORY IS BEING DRIVEN BY UGLINESS'
"History is no longer history. Truth is not truth, and even facts are being replaced by alternative facts. It is being driven by conspiracy theories and ugliness," De Niro began, continuing his speech as follows:
"In Florida, young students are being taught that enslaved people developed skills that could be used for their own personal benefit. The entertainment industry is not immune to this insidious disease. The Duke, John Wayne, famously said about 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.'"
News Source: 12punto
