Sylvester Stallone clarifies rumors of a feud with Robert De Niro. The two Academy Award-nominated actors first starred together in the 1997 crime drama Cop Land, both playing police officers who confront corruption in the New York City Police Department. Fifteen years later, the two teamed up again for 2013’s Grudge Match, starring as aging boxers who step into the ring for one last bout, referencing Stallone and De Niro’s iconic roles in Rocky and Raging Bull, respectively. Since then, the two haven’t worked with each other, with rumors it is because of a feud.

Now, on Instagram, Sylvester Stallone spoke out to shut down the rumors of his supposed feud with De Niro. Watch the video below:

In the video, Stallone refuted the rumors about him not wanting to work with De Niro again, calling them “absurd” and saying “you can’t believe everything you read.” Read his full comments below:

I just got back from the set of Tulsa King and just want to address something that I think is kind of an absurd rumor about myself and Robert De Niro never wanting to work with each other again. And having all sorts of angry comments about our stance on life and our philosophies, whatever. We’ve never had this discussions probably never will, and I just want to say you can’t believe everything you read.

How The Sylvester Stallone–Robert De Niro Feud Rumors Started

The Feud Was Fabricated & Spread On Social Media

The idea of a feud between Stallone and De Niro appears to be nothing more than an unfounded rumor that was fabricated and spread like wildfire on the internet. The rumor appears to have been started by Alex Jones, who has repeatedly spread disproven conspiracy theories. In a social media post, Jones falsely claimed that Stallone called De Niro a “woke creep” after he criticized Donald Trump and called the former President a “clown.” In his video, Stallone doesn’t deny he and De Niro may have differing political beliefs, though it’s not something that they discuss.

After the claim was fabricated by Jones, the rumor was spread further by a viral Facebook post. In early 2024, an image was posted by the account SpaceX Fanclub of a fake news headline, “‘I Don’t Work With Woke People’: Sylvester Stallone Drops Out Of $1 Billion Project With Robert De Niro.” The post linked to a story on the website, Esspots.com, which openly advertises itself as satire, as indicated by the outrageous $1 billion budget of the project.

After circulating online for several months, Stallone has finally spoken out and refuted the rumors about his feud and refusal to work with De Niro. The two have collaborated in the past on Cop Land and Grudge Match and, as suggested by Stallone’s video, he remains open to working with De Niro again on a future project. Both actors are busy though, with Sylvester Stallone working on Tulsa King season 2, and Robert De Niro attached to several upcoming projects.

Source: Sylvester Stallone/Instagram