Kennedy Center, Washington
While accepting the Palme d’Or lifetime achievement award Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival in France, actor Robert de Niro warned that artists and musicians are under threat in the United States.
Robert De Niro issued a call to action for anyone disturbed by the Kennedy Center’s right-wing makeover by Donald Trump, who he called “America’s philistine president, » i.e. a person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts.
“In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted, and that affects all of us,” De Niro said. “That affects all of us here because the arts are democratic. Art is inclusive. It brings people together, like tonight. Art looks for truth. Art embraces diversity. And that’s why art is a threat. That’s why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists,” he continued.
