Photos: Celebrity dish 03.22.12
ROBERT DE NIRO: NO OFFENSE
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- There was some offense taken. But Robert De Niro says he meant no offense by his joke at a fundraiser featuring first lady Michelle Obama. During the event, De Niro ran down a list of the wives of the Republican front runners then cracked that America "might not be ready for a white first lady." The Obama campaign backed away from the statement, though Newt Gingrich said the reference to the GOP wives was "inexcusable." Now De Niro is out with a statement of his own, saying his comments were "spoken with satirical jest" and weren't meant to offend or embarrass anyone last week -- especially the first lady.
