A rumor that singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen and film producer Robert De Niro said they would leave the United States after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election circulated online in November 2024.

For example, on November 17, 2024, The Patriots Network Facebook page posted (is archived) a meme with a picture of Springsteen with the text: “Bruce Springsteen leaves USA with (sic) Robert De Niro ‘No Respect For Us Here’.” That post had received about 16,000 reactions and 6,300 comments at the time of this writing.

In a comment, an admin of the page linked to one article (is archived) provides additional information about the claim. The article was dated Nov. 18 and appeared on SpaceXMania.com, a site affiliated with the site.

Also on November 17, the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page posted (is archived) a meme consisting of a collage of photos of both Springsteen and De Niro, with text reading: “Bruce Springsteen, Robert De Niro Say Goodbye to the US, ‘No Respect Here’.” That post had received around 5,000 reactions and 2,700 comments.

An administrator of the SpaceX Fanclub page left a comment on the post linking to an article on the affiliated website Esspots.com (is archived). That article, while not identical to SpaceXMania.com, was also dated November 18 and contained many of the same details.

A collage showing the two poles side by side can be seen below.

(Facebook pages The Patriots Network and SpaceX Fanclub)

Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual account of real-life events. For example, a Facebook user responded to the Patriots Network post by writing: “The only request I have is that they have their citizenship revoked and that they can never live in America again.” In response to the SpaceX Fanclub post, another Facebook user wrote: “Like they deserve respect. Goodbye. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

However, there was no credible evidence that any of the stars had made any such announcement.

Rather, the rumor that Springsteen and De Niro are leaving the country originated in The Patriots Network and SpaceX Fanclub — Facebook accounts that, along with their affiliated websites SpaceXMania.com and Esspots.com, are part of a network that describes its output as satirical in nature. The Patriots Network’s information section stated:

The Patriots Network is a satire and parody network affiliated with SpacexMania.com

Similarly, the SpaceX Fanclub information section reads:

We post SATIRE, nothing on this site is real.

The SpaceXMania.com and Esspots.com articles both ended with disclaimers stating:

NOTE: This is SATIRE, it is not true.

The fictional story spread weeks after Trump won the 2024 election, where both Springsteen and De Niro publicly endorsed Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency.

Both stars have previously made comments about leaving the country due to politics. Year 2020, Springsteen told a reporter he could move to Australia if Trump was re-elected. (Springsteen later clarified that he intended the comment as a joke.) Similarly, in 2016, when a reporter asked De Niro if he would leave the United States if Trump became president, the film producer answered: “That’s a good question – I don’t know.”

However, there was no evidence of that either Springsteen or De Niro commented along the same lines regarding the 2024 election.

The Patriots Network and SpaceX Fanclub Facebook pages, along with their associated websites, have a history of making up stories for shares and comments.

Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims about celebrities including Megan Rapinoe and Taylor Swift promises to leave the US over the 2024 election results.

For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources calling their output humorous or satirical.