Guillermo del Toro denounced AI as he accepted the Vanguard Tribute at the 2026 Gotham Awards on Monday night.

The Mexican director took to the stage at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City alongside his Frankenstein stars Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi to accept the Vanguard Tribute.

After remarks from the actors, Del Toro honoured all the artisans who helped make his epic movie adaptation of Mary Shelley's Gothic horror novel.

"I'd like to tell the rest of our extraordinary cast and our crew that the artistry of all of them shines on every single frame of this film that was wilfully made by humans, for humans," he said, reports Variety. "The designers, builders, make-up, wardrobe team, cinematographers, composers, editors, this tribute belongs to all of them. I would like to extend our gratitude and say: F**k AI."

The Shape of Water filmmaker has made his feelings about artificial intelligence well known in recent interviews. During a chat with NPR in October, he declared that he would "rather die" than use generative AI in his films.

"I hope to be able to remain uninterested in using it at all until I croak," he shared. "The other day, somebody wrote me an email, said, 'What is your stance on AI?' And my answer was very short. I said, 'I'd rather die.'"

Several tributes were awarded during the annual ceremony. The cast of Sinners received the Ensemble Tribute, Noah Baumbach was presented with the Director Tribute, After the Hunt collaborators Luca Guadagnino and Julia Roberts received the Visionary Tribute, and Song Sung Blue co-stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson took home the Musical Tribute, among others.

In the competitive categories, Jafar Panahi's Iranian film It Was Just An Accident led the winners with three: Best International Feature, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, won the night's biggest prize, Best Feature, while Sopé Dìrísù won Outstanding Lead Performance for My Father's Shadow, and Wunmi Mosaku took home the Outstanding Supporting Performance prize for Sinners.