Robert De Niro, 80, mocked over 35-year age gap with girlfriend in Jimmy Kimmel Oscars monologue

Robert De Niro, 80, found himself on the receiving end of one of Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes during his opening monologue on Sunday.

While Kimmel came under fire for ridiculing Robert Downey Jr over his past drug use, his jibes towards De Niro were met with a much warmer reception.

The late-night talk show host couldn’t resist teasing De Niro about the age gap he shared with 45-year-old girlfriend Tiffany Chen.

The pair have been romantically linked since August 2021 and even welcomed a baby daughter named Gia Virginia back in April 2023.

Kimmel’s monologue involved paying mention to the fact that De Niro had reunited with his Taxi Driver co-star Jodie Foster – the pair were both also nominated for respective Oscars.

The Oscars host reminded the crowd that Foster was just 12 years old when she starred opposite De Niro in the 1976 classic.

Kimmel said: “Here’s some fun Oscar trivia: 48 years ago, Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster were nominated for Taxi Driver, and they’re both nominated again tonight. 1976 was the year.

“In 1976, Jodie Foster was young enough to be Robert De Niro’s daughter.

“Now, she’s 20 years too old to be his girlfriend.”

The joke prompted laughter from the Hollywood crowd and even went down well with both Foster and De Niro.

Foster could be seen nodding her heading and mouthed to the camera: “It’s true.”

Meanwhile, De Niro also saw the funny side as he let out a laugh at Kimmel’s quip.

The moment also went down a storm with viewers at home, with several pleased to see De Niro and Foster reunite.

“Jodie Foster and Robert De Niro #legends #oscars,” one person penned on X before a second added: “Robert de Niro and Jodie Foster absolutely ELITE #Oscars.”

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And a third remarked: “Wow, I’m blown away away. 48 years ago Jodie Foster & Robert DeNiro were nominated for Taxi Driver. Tonight, they are both nominated again at the #Oscars #Legends.” (sic)

Sadly for De Niro, he missed out on an Oscar in 2024 in the Best Supporting Actor category.

Downey Jr managed to pip De Niro to the gong for his role in Oppenheimer.