Robert De Niro’s daughter has come out as trans, and everyone is talking about his response

Airyn De Niro, daughter of Hollywood legend Robert De Niro, came out as transgender this week as she detailed how the stories of openly transgender women such as Laverne Cox and Marsha P. Johnson had aided her gender story.

Airyn detailed the many things that factored into her accepting her gender identity, from the activist pioneers of the past to Halle Bailey’s depiction of Ariel in The Little Mermaid. In fact, it was the live-action remake that spurred the decision to get dreadlocks for the first time. She further cited KeKe Palmer, Kat Graham, Jools Lebron, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Naomi Campbell, and Raven-Symoné as inspirations for an alternative to the whitewashed ideals of what a woman is.

“I was always told I was too much of something or not enough of something growing up: Too big, not skinny enough,” she told THEM. “Not Black enough, not white enough. Too feminine, not masculine enough. It was never just, ‘You’re just right, just the way you are.’”

Noting how she was a “late bloomer”, only starting hormone replacement therapy in November, she added: “Trans women being honest and open, especially [in] public spaces like social media and getting to see them in their success … I’m like, you know what? Maybe it’s not too late for me.”

Though Airyn’s mother, Toukie Smith, is yet to publicly comment on her daughter’s transition, her father, Robert De Niro, did not mince his words. While it’s somewhat a queer instinct to assume anyone over a certain age is against the community, his response is another lesson in why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

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“I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter,” Robert, 81, said in a statement shared with Deadline. “I don’t know what the big deal is. I love all my children.”

People LOVED Robert De Niro’s response to Airyn coming out

The chad Robert De Niro vs. the virgin Elon Musk https://t.co/xkMOTQabG6 pic.twitter.com/tZUoOWIVp2

— 679 Enthusiast (@marionumber4) May 1, 2025

I have a personal loathing for the phrase “They’re from a different generation”, but Robert De Niro has single-handedly proved that older people can choose not to be bigots and instead celebrate an experience they might not fully understand. People are loving him for it.

On Twitter, one person wrote: “If Robert De Niro, as an 81-year-old man, can love his trans daughter, then you can also support trans people.”

“Bob is truly an unbothered King to his core,” another said, as a third added, “Type of love all parents should have for their children.”

“He’s a very social and emotionally intelligent guy. I love this dude, would be a pleasure to have some drinks and talk life with him,” someone else wrote.

Faith in humanity somewhat restored.

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Featured image credit: Airyn De Niro/Alan West/Hogan Media/Shutterstock