Robert De Niro’s daughter Drena De Niro claimed that her son Leandro De Niro Rodriguez died after taking pills laced with fentanyl.
“Someone sold him fentanyl laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him so for all these people still f—king around selling and buying this s—t, my son is gone forever 😭,” Drena, 51, told a social media user on Tuesday, July 4, when asked how her son died. Leandro was 19 years old.
Drena announced Leandro’s death two days earlier.
“My beautiful sweet angel. I have loved you beyond words or description from the moment I felt you in my belly. You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life,” Drena, who shared Leandro with Carlos Mare, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, July 2. “I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you.”
She continued: “I don’t know how to live without you but I’ll try to go on and spread the love and light that you so made me feel in getting to be your mama. You were so deeply loved and appreciated and I wish that love alone could have saved you 😞.”
Leandro’s father, for his part, honored his late son in the comment section of Drena’s post.
“😢 My dear Drena … words aren’t enough to express the joy he gave us or the loss we now endure with our families and friends. He is Godschild now. 🙏🏼,” Mare commented on Drena’s Instagram tribute. “On this full moon his spirit luminates what could not be seen in the dark. You can’t spell LOVE without LEO 👼💔💔.”
Shortly after the news broke of Leandro’s death, Drena shared her gratitude for all the support she and her family had received following their tragic loss.
“It is with immeasurable shock and sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved son Leo,” she said in a statement to Us Weekly on Monday, July 3. “We thank you for the outpouring of love and support and ask that we are given privacy at this time to process this inconsolable grief.”
Robert — who is the father of seven children — adopted Drena while he was married to his first wife, Diahnne Abbott. Leandro was the Oscar winner’s oldest grandson.
“I’m deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo,” the Meet the Parents star, 79, told Us Weekly in a statement at the time. “We’re greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone. We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo.”
Prior to his death, Leandro appeared in multiple film roles alongside Drena including 2005’s The Collection, 2018’s Cabaret Maxime and the 2018 remake of A Star Is Born.
