Michelle Obama calls De Niro 'inappropriate' for crack about America not being ready for a 'white first lady'

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 00:32 EST, 21 March 2012 | Updated: 00:32 EST, 21 March 2012

Michelle Obama has said actor Robert De Niro was 'inappropriate' when he made a remark at a fundraiser that the country was not ready for a 'white first lady.'

The comment, released through Mrs Obama's spokeswoman, stops short of apologizing for De Niro's statements at a fundraiser in New York City Monday.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich demanded the White House apologize for the remark, calling it 'inexcusable.'

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Outrage: Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich called for President Obama to apologise for Mr De Niro's comments, calling them 'inexcusable'

However, in her one-line comment, spokeswoman Olivia Alair told the Hill newspaper: 'We believe the joke was inappropriate.'

De Niro released an apology of his own, saying: 'My remarks, although spoken with satirical jest, were not meant to offend or embarrass anyone -- especially the First Lady.'

Speaking at a dinner he hosted in New York City to raise funds for President Obama's re-election campaign, De Niro said it was 'too soon' for a white First Lady.

The Republican presidential candidate lambasted the comments, which had been cheered by Obama donors, as 'inexcusable'.

'What De Niro said last night was inexcusable and the president should apologise for him,' Gringrich told supporters in Shreveport, Louisiana.

'Wrong': Robert De Niro arrives at an Obama fundraiser he co-hosted in New York on Monday. He later apologised for saying it was 'too soon' for a 'white first lady'

He added: 'I do want to say one thing, both on behalf of my wife and on behalf of Karen Santorum and on behalf of Ann Romney, I think that Robert De Niro's wrong.

'I think the country is ready for a new first lady and he doesn't have to describe it in racial terms.'

De Niro and his wife Grace Hightower hosted the dinner attended by around 90 Obama supporters at the Greenwich Hotel, which he owns.

Witness: First Lady Michelle Obama attended the fundraiser for her husband's re-election campaign and changed outfits halfway through

The event, which cost between $5,000 and $25,000 per ticket, was attended by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Before she addressed the supporters, De Niro said: 'Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?'

A guest at the event, which was held in the hotel's Locanda Verde restaurant, yelled, 'No!', to which De Niro added: 'Too soon, right?'

The White House agreed with Gringrich, saying: 'We believe the joke was inappropriate.'

'Proud': Gingrich said the election is not bout the First Lady. He added he'd be proud if his wife Callista (left) or his rivals' wives were in the White House

Absent: President Obama was not present at the fundraiser in New York co-hosted by Mr De Niro, whose remarks about a 'white first lady' drew criticism

Gingrich added that the comments made by De Niro divide the country and that 'everybody in the country ought to hold the president accountable when somebody at his event says something as utterly, totally unacceptable as Robert De Niro said last night'.

He said that while he would prefer his wife Callista as First Lady, he would be 'very proud and very honored' to have Ann Romney or Karen Santorum in the White House.

'These are fine ladies, as is Michelle Obama, but this is not about the First Lady, it is about the president and that is where De Niro missed the whole point,' he said. 'He should be ashamed of himself.'

Scene: Around 85 guests attended the dinner at Locanda Verde, the Italian restaurant inside Mr De Niro's Greenwich Hotel, pictured

Tickets for the event started at $5,000, but soared to $25,000 for guests wishing to mingle with the first lady.

Celebrities, including singer Beyoncé Knowles, Harvey Weinstein and January Jones, flocked to the 85-person dinner.

Cash raised benefited the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising account for the Obama campaign and Democratic National Committee.

President Obama, who has attended 109 fundraising events this election cycle, was not at the dinner, instead entertaining 20 of his wealthiest donors at a private, roundtable dinner in Washington D.C.

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