Robert De Niro responds to critics of anti-vaccination doc screening at Tribeca Film Fest

Robert De Niro is addressing concerns from the science community about a controversial new documentary. 

The film in question is Vaxxed: From Conspiracy to Cover-up, which explores the claim that autism is linked to vaccinations. It's set to premiere worldwide at the Tribeca Film Festival, which De Niro co-founded. 

Now the Oscar winner is responding to his critics in a new statement, saying that he is not "personally endorsing the film, nor am I anti-vaccination; I am only providing the opportunity for a conversation around the issue." 

“Grace [his wife] and I have a child with autism and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined," he says. 

Vaxxed is about the hypothesis that vaccinations can cause autism. The film was directed by Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who falsely claimed a link between vaccinations and autism in a now retracted study in 1998; he was stripped of his medical license in 2010. 

The festival's choice to screen the film has drawn sharp criticism from those who view it as a show of support for the anti-vaccine movement. Detractors have also directed their ire at Wakefield himself, once named "one of the most reviled doctors of his generation" by the New York Times. 

Premiering his documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival gives Wakefield a high-profile platform to continue sharing his misinformed claims, critics say.

Last year, the anti-vaccination movement dominated national conversation (and political debates) after a measles outbreak in Disneyland. 

Here's the trailer for Vaxxed, which will screen at Tribeca on April 24.

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