Robert De Niro opened up about the break-in at his Manhattan townhouse, telling The Post it was a “sad situation” — and that he feels “bad” for the serial burglar allegedly caught opening Christmas presents under his tree.
The 79-year-old Oscar-winner made the comments as he left a closed-doors custody hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court in his divorce case from estranged wife Grace Hightower.
“It’s just a sad situation — unfortunate for everybody,” De Niro said of the Dec. 19 attempted burglary, while wearing a face mask, a hat and holding a newspaper to block part of his face.
“It’s all sad,” he added. “I felt bad for the whole situation. I felt bad for the person.”
The “Irishman” actor’s rented Upper East Side townhouse was broken into as he slept, days before Christmas. Prosecutors have said accused burglar Shanice Aviles, 30, used a knife and “crowbar-like tool” to force her way into the home and was found by cops fumbling with his belongings.
De Niro’s divorce lawyer Caroline Krauss on Tuesday said it’s sad “that someone would feel the need to do such a thing, to which the star chimed in, “yes.”
When asked if the incident left him scared the “Taxi Driver” actor and native New Yorker replied: “No.”
Aviles allegedly broke into De Niro’s pad at around 2 a.m. and rummaged through his things in the basement, the living room and on the second floor, prosecutors said at a hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court last month.
“She opened the Christmas presents underneath the tree and repackaged what she wanted in a tote bag,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Dylan Los Huertos said during Aviles’ arraignment.
The accused thief even allegedly used the actor’s iPad and iPod and was busted with his earbuds in her pocket, prosecutors said.
De Niro was asleep upstairs during the incident, sources said
Aviles pleaded not guilty to burglary charges and is being held at Rikers Island on $40,000 bail. She is due back in court on Wednesday, court records show.
Meanwhile, lawyers for De Niro and Hightower declined to comment on the brief hearing in the divorce case, aside from confirming the pair had not yet settled.
Inside the courtroom, De Niro removed his hat revealing a shaved head — which he later said was because of “ringworm” before saying the bald look was for an upcoming role. “It’s complicated,” De Niro said.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ariel Chesler closed the courtroom from the public Tuesday citing “confidential custody” issues in the divorce case.
The “Raging Bull” star quietly filed for divorce from Hightower in 2018. They were together for 20 years with a five-year break after divorcing for the first time in 2003. They renewed their vows and remarried a year later.
The pair have fought over the custody of their daughter Helen Grace, 11.
Hightower — a philanthropist and actress — had also previously sought half of the earnings that De Niro made in Hollywood and business ventures, but an appeals court in 2021 denied that request.
