“De Niro’s segment, instead of boosting ratings, seemed to have had the opposite effect.”

Image courtesy of SpaceX Fanclub/Facebook

“The View” hit its lowest ratings in TV history after a May 2024 episode featuring Robert De Niro.

On June 5, 2024, the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page posted that “The View” had hit a new low. According to the rumor, Oscar-winner Robert De Niro’s appearance on the ABC daytime talk show resulted in the lowest ratings in TV history. The post read, “The View Hits Lowest Ratings in TV History After Featuring Robert De Niro.”

‘Breaking: The View Hits Lowest Ratings in TV History After Featuring Robert De Niro’

The top comment under the post from a manager of the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page read, “Cancel the show already.” The comment also featured a link to a full article on esspots.com, which began as follows:

Breaking: The View Hits Lowest Ratings in TV History After Featuring Robert De Niro

In a surprising twist of fate, “The View” has hit rock bottom, marking the lowest ratings in television history after featuring the acclaimed actor Robert De Niro. Once a staple of daytime television, “The View” has seen a significant drop in viewership, sparking conversations about the show’s current relevance and the impact of its guest choices.

…

Robert De Niro’s appearance on “The View” was heavily promoted by the show’s producers. Known for his outspoken political views, especially his criticism of former President Donald Trump, De Niro’s visit was expected to draw in viewers eager to hear his thoughts on the current state of the nation. However, the outcome was far from what the producers had anticipated.

De Niro’s segment, instead of boosting ratings, seemed to have had the opposite effect. Viewers took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the episode. Some felt that the actor’s presence overshadowed the show’s regular format, while others were put off by the political discourse that dominated the conversation.

‘Satire, Parody and Humor’

However, the truth was the authors of the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook post and esspots.com article made up the rumor about low ratings. The quote meme, Facebook page and website all feature at least one label identifying their content as satire. For example, a disclaimer on esspots.com reads as follows:

Welcome to Esspots.com, a website that specializes in satire, parody, and humor. Before you proceed to read our content, we would like to emphasize that nothing on this website is real. All of the articles, stories, and commentary found on Esspots.com are entirely fictitious and created for the purpose of entertainment only.

We understand that satire can sometimes be mistaken for actual news or events, but we want to make it clear that we do not publish factual or accurate information. We do not intend to deceive or mislead our readers in any way, and all of our content should be taken with a grain of salt.

Further, a SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page manager updated the post on June 7 to add to the text caption, “This is SATIRE.”

De Niro on ‘The View’

The inspiration for the creation of this rumor stemmed in part from De Niro’s appearance on “The View” on May 14. During the episode, De Niro warned the audience of what he believed would be the consequences of a second term for former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“I don’t understand why people are not taking him seriously because you read about it historically in other countries that they didn’t take the people seriously,” De Niro said. “I think a Hitler, Mussolini… ‘They’re fools and clowns. Oh, they’ll…’ And I hear it, if some people… I mean, who does not think this guy is going to do exactly what the says he’s going to do? He’s done it already.”

De Niro added, “Those people who support him with anger and hate, because that’s what he’s about, they’re gonna see.”

Two weeks later, on May 28, De Niro delivered remarks outside the courthouse where Trump’s New York City criminal hush-money trial was taking place. According to The Associated Press, De Niro’s presence was an official appearance organized by President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.