Former Saturday Night Live cast member Amy Poehler ended an hour with Robert De Niro on her Good Hang podcast by showering the actor with praise for repeatedly speaking out against President Donald Trump.
The exchange culminated [1] in a tearful De Niro reaching for a tissue.
The conversation had focused on the Good Fellas star before Poehler pivoted at the close to his relentless Trump criticism.
Her lavish praise transformed the interview into a spectacle of celebrity validation.
Poehler opened the tribute by saying, “I just personally want to thank you for, like, doing what you do and speaking out in the way that you do about where we are in the world.”
She said people asked to speak truth to power are usually younger, have less currency or footing, or come from the margins.
Poehler added that those people are often women or people of color, while De Niro has the age and status to make others listen.
Poehler compared the country to a wedding being ruined by someone giving a terrible speech.
“And the wedding is America and, and there’s another adult who says like, ‘We don’t talk like that. That’s not how you’re supposed to treat people. This is insane.’ It makes everybody feel very safe and so I’ve seen you do it over and over again and I really appreciate it,” she added.
The praise left De Niro tearing up as he thanked Poehler.
His emotional response only encouraged the host, who continued applauding him for standing up on behalf of people she said lacked the power to do so themselves.
“It means a lot to a lot of people cuz you’re standing up for a lot of people who don’t have the power to do that,” Poehler continued.
“So, thank you, Bob. And thanks for doing it over and over again. And this is going to be a real switcheroo because I can’t believe I just made you cry. I feel incredible right now. Hold on. We got to get you your tissues.”
De Niro then dabbed his eyes with a tissue while Poehler moved from flattering her guest to criticizing other men.
She specifically targeted white men of a certain age whom she said possess power but do not use it as they could.
“But it’s true. It’s true. It is,” she said.
“You know, there’s not a lot of men who, uh, in your position who do that and, uh, white men of a certain age, like who, frankly, you know, have a ton of power and don’t use that responsibility in a way that they could. So, thank you.”
De Niro responded by describing the situation in the country as upsetting, crazy, and blatant.
He also warned that Trump would influence others and said people must remain on guard about what is happening.
“It’s so upsetting to see what’s happening in this country, and so crazy,” the actor replied.
“It’s not like it’s I mean, in a way that’s better that it’s so blatant because this will happen again and, and this guy will influence people. They’ll come up and say, ‘Well, I can do it this way or that way.’ And we have to always be on guard with, with uh what’s happening now.”
The actor then praised the importance of having courage and fighting. He insisted that people would get nothing if they refused to fight and said they had to join with others.
“You have to fight. You have to fight because if you don’t fight, you’re not going to get anything. You’re not going to and you have to fight. You have to join people. I just I use this example Jason Crowe saying, um, that the courage is, is contagious.”
De Niro closed by arguing that courage could spread just as negative feelings can.
“Uh, and and uh you know the other thing can the negative feelings can be contagious too but why not have courage and be contagious and stand up and they might find out it’s not so difficult and and people will stop the nonsense that they’re doing. Uh, it’s it’s just out of control,” he concluded.
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