Rober De Niro’s grandson died of a fentanyl overdose

Drena De Niro has revealed the cause of death of her 19-year-old son.

Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, the grandson of Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, recently passed away after taking fentanyl, his mother wrote on social media.

“It is with immeasurable shock and sadness that we bid farewell to our beloved son Leo,” Drena De Niro made this in a statement on Monday on her verified social media. “We thank you for the outpouring of love and support and ask that we be given privacy at this time to process this inconsolable grief.”

In comments to that post, a follower asked how the teen actor died — and why.

“Someone sold him pills with fentanyl that they knew were in it, but sold them to him anyway, so to all these people who still mess around selling and buying this sh*t, my son is gone forever,” De Niro wrote in response.

According to a recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 70,000 people in the US died of drug overdoses involving fentanyl in 2021, nearly a fourfold increase in five years. By 2021, about two-thirds of all overdose deaths will be related to the potent synthetic opioid, it found.

Drena De Niro announced her son’s death in an Instagram post on Sunday.

“You have been my joy, my heart and everything that was ever pure and real in my life,” the caption read in part. “I don’t know how to live without you, but I will try to carry on and spread the love and light you made me feel this way when I became your mother. You were so deeply loved and appreciated and I wish only love could have saved you.

An actress, De Niro is the daughter of the legendary actor, who also expressed his grief over the loss.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo,” Robert De Niro said in a statement to CNN. “We are extremely grateful for everyone’s condolences. We ask that we please be given privacy to mourn our loss of Leo.

Leandro De Niro Rodriguez had appeared alongside his mother in the 2018 movie ‘A Star Is Born’ starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. His other acting credits include “Cabaret Maxime” in 2018 and “The Collection” in 2005, according to IMdB.