Robert De Niro: Actor Confirms Son's Autism as He Pulls out Controversial Film From Tribeca Film Festival
Award-winning actor Robert De Niro has recently confirmed that his son, eighteen-year-old Elliot, has autism - further adding debate about the controversial docu-film "Vaxxed" which he initially wanted to be part of the Tribeca Film Festival.
According to People, De Niro said in a statement, "Grace and I have a child with autism and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined."
The actor co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival and while he has demonstrated many times that he is all for further encouraging the awareness on autism, his decision to include the documentary in the festival has obtained rage from among fans.
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The movie was created by Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist who claimed that autism is caused by some vaccines. Wakefield is called the father of this generation's anti-vaccine movement and while he has lost his medical license due to his claims about a certain vaccine in 1998, his most recent stint is just one of his attempts to push for the movement against vaccinations.
In 2013, De Niro broke down in tears while doing an interview with Katie Couric. He was discussing "Silver Linings Playbook" when the issue on raising children with disorders was brought up. He was silent for some time and had to pat his eyes several times as unexpected tears flowed until he said, "I don't like to get emotional. But I know exactly what he [director David O. Russell] goes through."
"Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe," was supposed to be screened for the festival but it has been confirmed by the De Niro himself through a Facebook post that he has decided to take the documentary off the schedule. He explained that he was hoping the docu-film would open doors for conversations that would further clarify an issue that is very personal to him. However, the diverse opinions of people made him and the organization decide that the film wasn't fit for the program.
