An article claimed Springsteen was moving to Ireland, while De Niro would head to Tuscany.
A rumor that singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen and film producer Robert De Niro said they were leaving the U.S. following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election circulated online in November 2024.
For example, on Nov. 17, 2024, the Facebook page The Patriots Network posted (archived) a meme featuring an image of Springsteen with text reading: “Bruce Springsteen is Leaving the US Along with [sic] Robert De Niro ‘No Respect For Us Here.’” That post had received around 16,000 reactions and 6,300 comments at the time of this writing.
In a comment, an administrator for the page linked to an article (archived) providing further details about the claim. The article was dated Nov. 18 and appeared on SpaceXMania.com, a website affiliated with the page.
Also on Nov. 17, the Facebook page SpaceX Fanclub posted (archived) a meme consisting of a collage of images of both Springsteen and De Niro, with text reading: “Bruce Springsteen, Robert De Niro Say Goodbye to the U.S, ‘No Respect Here.’” That post had received around 5,000 reactions and 2,700 comments.
An administrator for the SpaceX Fanclub page left a comment on the post linking to an article on the affiliated website Esspots.com (archived). That article, though not identical to the SpaceXMania.com one, was also dated Nov. 18 and included many of the same details.
A collage showing the two posts side by side can be seen below.
(Facebook pages The Patriots Network and SpaceX Fanclub)
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. For example, one Facebook user responded to the Patriots Network post by writing: “The only request I have is that they have their citizenship canceled and they can never live in America again.” In response to the SpaceX Fanclub post, a different Facebook user wrote: “Like they deserve respect. Good bye. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”
However, there was no credible evidence that either star had made any such announcement.
Rather, the rumor about Springsteen and De Niro leaving the country originated with The Patriots Network and SpaceX Fanclub — Facebook accounts that, along with their affiliated websites SpaceXMania.com and Esspots.com, are part of a network that describes its output as being satirical in nature. The Patriots Network’s info section stated:
The Patriots Network is a Network of Satire and Parody affiliated with SpacexMania.com
Similarly, SpaceX Fanclub’s info section read:
We post SATIRE, nothing on this page is real.
The SpaceXMania.com and Esspots.com articles likewise both concluded with disclaimers stating:
NOTE: This is SATIRE, It’s Not True.
The fictional story spread weeks after Trump won the 2024 election, in which both Springsteen and De Niro publicly supported Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.
Both stars have previously made comments about leaving the country over politics. In 2020, Springsteen told a reporter he might move to Australia if Trump was reelected. (Springsteen later clarified that he intended the comment as a joke.) Similarly, in 2016, when a reporter asked De Niro whether he would leave the U.S. if Trump became president, the film producer responded: “That’s a good question — I don’t know.”
However, there was no evidence that either Springsteen or De Niro made comments along the same lines regarding the 2024 election.
The Patriots Network and SpaceX Fanclub Facebook pages, along with their associated websites, have a history of making up stories for shares and comments.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims about celebrities including Megan Rapinoe and Taylor Swift vowing to leave the U.S. over the 2024 election results.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
