Date: 26th July 2001

De Niro's Ex Makes Drug Claim


The battle between Hollywood heavyweight ROBERT DE NIRO and his estranged wife GRACE HIGHTOWER is hotting up - with Hightower claiming the star's drug use makes him unfit to be a dad.

De Niro is trying to gain unchaperoned access to his three-year- old son ELLIOT, but the drug revelations could harm his case with a New York judge, who has already ordered him to seek psychiatric help.

De Niro's spokesman STAN ROSSENFELD says, "Mr De Niro does not have a substance or drinking problem. Nor does he have a problem with an over-zealous imagination. " (NFA/WNTST)

Source: WENN