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De Niro Defends Screening of Anti-Vaxxer Film

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Category: Health, Science & Technology

Via: community • 10 years ago • 2 comments

De Niro Defends Screening of Anti-Vaxxer Film

(Newser) – Robert De Niro says he's not anti-vaccination—he's just in favor of screening an anti-vaccination documentary made by a disgraced medical researcher. The actor is defending his decision to include Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe at New York City's Tribeca Film Festival, which he co-founded, Rolling Stone reports. The film is directed and co-written by British anti-vaccination activist Andrew Wakefield, who was stripped of his medical license for ethics violations, reports the New York Times . Wakefield was behind a controversial 1998 study linking vaccines to autism, which was later discredited and retracted by the medical journal that published it.

"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," De Niro said, per Variety . He said that in the 15 years since he founded the festival, he has never been involved in programming, but "this is very personal to me and my family and I want there to be a discussion, which is why we will be screening Vaxxed . I am not personally endorsing the film, nor am I anti-vaccination; I am only providing the opportunity for a conversation around the issue." In an open letter in Filmmaker magazine, documentary maker Penny Lane urged the festival to reconsider its decision to spread "dangerous misinformation."

http://www.newser.com/story/222635/de-niro-defends-screening-of-anti-vaxxer-film.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=earthlink&utm_campaign=rss_topnews