Robert De Niro has been stripped of a prestigious award after launching into a tirade against Donald Trump outside the court where the former president was standing trial.
De Niro was due to be honoured by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) at a ceremony in Washington DC next week.
But the 80-year-old Oscar-winning actor will now not receive the group’s Leadership Foundation’s Service to America Award.
The organisation, which describes itself as “bipartisan”, said it feared De Niro’s attendance at its event would “distract” from the work it does.
De Niro engaged in an angry shouting match with Trump supporters last week, describing the former president as a “loser” and branding his followers as “gangsters”.
He added: “When Trump ran in 2016, it was like a joke.”
The actor continued: “This buffoon running for president? Naw, never could happen. We’d forgotten the lessons of history that showed us other clowns who weren’t taken seriously until they became vicious dictators.”
‘Trump derangement syndrome’
He accused Trump of trying to “sow total chaos” in the US.
The former president responded in kind in a social media post, describing the actor as a “wacko” who was suffering from an “incurable case of Trump derangement syndrome”.
De Niro’s outburst was too much for the NAB, which rescinded the award.
“This event is proudly bipartisan, uniting those from across the political spectrum to celebrate the impactful work of local broadcasters and our partners,” it said in a statement.
“While we strongly support the right of every American to exercise free speech and participate in civic engagement, it is clear that Mr De Niro’s recent high-profile activities will create a distraction from the philanthropic work that we were hoping to recognise.”
De Niro, who has backed Joe Biden’s fundraising campaign, did not criticise the foundation for rescinding the honour.
“I support the work of the NAB Leadership Foundation and would like to express my appreciation and gratitude for what the Foundation has done and will continue to do for the good of us all, and I wish them well for their continued good work.”