De Niro at Hollywood Film Awards: Vote Hillary to Avoid Election Day ‘Tragedy’

The 20th annual Hollywood Film Awards quickly turned political Sunday night as host James Corden, actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro and a bevy of other celebrities weighed in on Tuesday’s upcoming presidential election, with some bashing Republican candidate Donald Trump.

“This is my second year hosting the show, and I still have no idea what it is. Literally none of this is real. It’s the awards-show equivalent of a Donald Trump campaign promise,” Corden, host of CBS’ Late Late Show, joked at the start of the non-televised event, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“This year they brought back Star Wars with a female lead. They rebooted Ghostbusters with a female cast. And I pray to God they reboot the Clinton presidency with a female lead,” Corden added in what was the start of an array of endorsements for the Democratic candidate.

Actor Robert De Niro, accepting the night’s Hollywood Comedy Award, used his speech to urge the audience to vote for Clinton. In a video last month, De Niro had called Trump “an embarrassment” to the United States, and said he would like to “punch him in the face.”

“We are two days from a frightening election. The shadow of politics is hanging over us whether we like it or not. It’s hard for me to think about anything else,” De Niro said. “Let me just lay it out right here: We have the opportunity to keep a comedy from turning into a tragedy. Vote for Hillary Tuesday.”

Actor Jonah Hill cracked a joke at Republicans’ expense while introducing his Wolf of Wall Street co-star Leonardo DiCaprio: “As a right-wing Republican, I believe that science is just for p*ssies and Jews,” Hill joked.

DiCaprio accepted the evening’s Hollywood Documentary Award for his climate change documentary Before the Flood. The newly-minted Oscar-winner has appeared in a number of voter registration PSAs during the election, and recently screened his climate change film for President Obama at the White House.

“If you don’t believe in climate change, you might as well not believe in gravity. There is no more time for arguing or fighting the facts or spreading campaigns with misinformation,” DiCaprio said, without referring to either Trump or Clinton. “Let’s all use our power as citizens to do the right thing. Please vote this Tuesday, November 8.”

 

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson