An Aussie TV presenter has criticized the veteran Hollywood actor Robert De Niro after he announced that he just welcomed his seventh baby at age 79.
Speaking in an interview with ET Canada, Robert announced the arrival of his new baby without revealing the child’s gender or name.
When ET Canada’s reporter Brittnee Blair asked De Niro what it’s like to be a father of six children, he replied, “Seven, actually. I just had a baby.”
Now as the actor has made headlines for becoming a father at the age of 79, an Aussie Channel Nine personality, Shelly Horton, blasted the Godfather star in a new column and said it was irresponsible to father a baby at his age.
“It’s irresponsible to have children at that age, especially when you consider the child will undoubtedly grow up without a father for most of their life,” she penned in a column for 9Honey.
“While some may argue women shouldn’t have to sacrifice their desire to have children because their partner is older, they need to think about the long-term consequences of that decision.”
According to Shelly, people should stop having children after a certain age because they often die and before their children grow up making it incredibly difficult for their young partners to raise those children alone as single mothers.
“As parents age, they may also struggle with health issues that make it difficult for them to provide the care and attention young children require,” she added.
She also noted that in one of his interviews with The Hollywood Reporter in 2016, The Shining star himself accepted that it would be irresponsible for him to have any more kids.
“I don’t think it’s responsible, at my age, to have more children. I’m going to be 70 years old, and they’ll be dealing with the things that people deal with at that age,” De Niro told the outlet.
Although the Hollywood icon didn’t confirm who the mother is in his latest interview, his last romantic affair was with his martial arts instructor, Tiffany Chen.
“They were photographed holding hands in July 2022, and in March of this year she appeared pregnant when leaving Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica, California,” per Daily Mail. “On March 22, Tiffany was seen with what looked like a baby bump as she left Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica, California, with Robert.
“They had just enjoyed an Italian dinner with Harvey Keitel and Billy Crystal.”
Reps of the actor confirmed that he has recently welcomed his seventh child but didn’t say anything about the baby’s gender or his mother’s identity.
The actor married twice – his first marriage was with his Taxi Driver costar, Diahnne Abbott. The duo met on the set of their film in 1976 and welcomed their son Raphael. The Raging Bull actor also adopted Abbott’s daughter, Drena, from her previous relationship.
The two-time Oscar winner split with Diahnne in 1988, but he stayed in touch with his adopted daughter as the two shared a close bond.
In 1995, De Niro started dating model and actress Toukie Smith and welcomed twin sons with her, Julian and Aron.
Two years later, the couple split, and Robert moved on to marry Grace Hightower in 1997. Their marriage lasted for nearly 21 years, and the couple welcomed two children together – son Elliot and daughter Helen. The marriage ended in 2018.
“Grace and I have two beautiful children together,” De Niro told Us Weekly after their split in November 2018.
“We are entering a period of transition in our relationship, which is a difficult but constructive process. I honor Grace as a wonderful mother and ask for privacy and respect from all as we proceed to develop our roles as partners in parenting.”
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Sources: ET Canada – Daily Mail – 9Honey – Us Weekly
