Robert De Niro's daughter Drena claims 'internet' influenced son Leandro’s death at 19
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Robert De Niro's daughter, Drena De Niro, has spoken again about the circumstances that led to the untimely death of her only son, 19-year-old Leandro De Niro Rodriguez. Leandro died in July 2023 from a fatal incident involving psychoactive substances.
In a recent interview, Drena said Leandro's online activity and the toll of the psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with the exposure to psychoactive substances, played a significant role in the rapid and devastating shift she noticed in her son.
"There was a change in him that was so fast," she recalled, explaining that something about what he was acessing online was affecting him in ways she "immediately knew weren't right."
Nearly two years after the harrowing tragedy, five people were arrested in connection with the case, an update that Drena described as "really strange" and "so bittersweet because you don't feel any happier."
Drena De Niro says there was a sudden change in Leandro's behavior
Lamenting the past, Drena said Leandro "liked to party and have a good time," but the speed of his decline alarmed her. "He got messed up so fast that I knew something wasn't right there," she said, again pointing toward his internet activity as a key factor.
She referenced TikTok but did not specify what he was consuming or interacting with on the app.
Drena said her son had been discussing the possibilities of returning to rehabilitation shortly before his death, calling it "very sad" because "he wanted help, he knew he was over his head."
Days after his death, Drena wrote on Instagram that he had been given fatally altered pills. The New York City medical examiner has attributed his death to the combined effects of multiple potent psychoactive substances.
Recalling the moment she first heard of her son's death, she said, "This detective stood there," and "the whole world as I knew it collapsed."
Remembering Leandro and a mission to help others
Drena spoke fondly about her son's personality, saying "He was just an amazing kid, he was so smart."
She said she was "extremely close" to her son "because it was the first time in my life that I got to have an identity that had nothing to do with my father, or 'I'm the this' of someone else, all of a sudden, you have this relationship in your life with someone who knows the best of you, the worst of you."
She continued, noting her father's joy saying, "He got to have the experience of just being a grandfather with him. He was just this pure soul."
This year, Drena and Robert launched the Leandro De Niro Rodriguez Foundation, aiming to expand help and access to care for young people and families affected by the psychoactive substance crisis. "I founded the organisation to help prevent other families from ever having to know this pain," she said.
Speaking about the public reaction to her son's demise, she said, "It was painful and shocking to hear people's horrible thoughts, but a part of me was like, he is not going to be some horrible sound bite. I'm going to make sure you know who this kid is."
