Brazilian President swipes Leonardo DiCaprio after recent comments on the Amazon rainforest

Private jet enthusiast and climate activist Leonardo DiCaprio has put wind up a world leader, who fired back immediately with scorn.

Long-time climate activist Leonardo DiCaprio has found himself in hot water with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro after making recent comments on the Amazon rainforest.

The Hollywood star, who has built an environmentalist foundation named after him, has made regular speeches on the topic of climate change as a United Nations representative. His foundation “supports projects around the world that build climate resiliency, protect vulnerable wildlife and restore balance to threatened ecosystems and communities.”

In a series of tweets posted this week, DiCaprio urged Brazilians to enrol to vote in the upcoming election to help protect the Amazon rainforest, which lost more than 5,000 square miles between August 2020 and July 2021. According to analysts, the rate of destruction has recently risen to levels unseen since 2006.

“Brazil is home to the Amazon and other ecosystems critical to climate change,” he wrote last week. “What happens there matters to us all, and youth voting is key in driving change for a healthy planet.

However, DiCaprio’s move to influence Brazilian politics appeared to rub Bolsonaro the wrong way. The Brazilian leader pointed to recent comments from the WTO (World Trade Organisation, claiming Brazilian agribusiness is keeping food on the table for millions across the globe.

Leonardo DiCaprio has been called out by Brazil’s president for his recent comments on saving the Amazon.

Destruction of the Brazilian Amazon has accelerated this year to levels unseen since 2006.

“Now, DiCaprio has to know that it was the very president of the World Trade Organisation who said that without Brazilian agribusiness, the world would be hungry,” Bolsonaro said.

“So, DiCaprio better keep his mouth shut instead of talking nonsense.”

Bolsonaro then thanked DiCaprio for encouraging citizens to vote and praised his Oscar-winning performance in The Revenant.

“Thanks for your support, Leo! It‘s really important to have every Brazilian voting in the coming elections,” he said. “Our people will decide if they want to keep our sovereignty on the Amazon or be ruled by crooks who serve special foreign interests. Good job in The Revenant.”

The Brazilian President further accused the Hollywood star of spreading misinformation by using old photos of the Amazon wildfires.

“By the way, the picture you posted to talk about the wildfires in the Amazon in 2019 is from 2003. There are people who want to arrest Brazilian citizens who make this kind of mistake here in our country. But I’m against this tyrannical idea. So I forgive you. Hugs from Brazil!” he said.

DiCaprio has courted criticism in the past for his overt stance on environmentalism. In 2019, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star was questioned over his own carbon footprint after several photos of him boarding private jets and yachts circulated social media.

Brazil is home to the Amazon and other ecosystems critical to climate change.
What happens there matters to us all and youth voting is key in driving change for a healthy planet. For more on voter registration in Brazil before May 4, visit https://t.co/0mKrfxLdRR#tiraotitulohoje

— Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) April 28, 2022

In October, a group of climate lawyers urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Bolsonaro for his hand in the accelerated destruction of the rainforest, which they described as “crimes against humanity”.

According to the INPE report, 941.34 square kilometres of forest had been destroyed between January and March this year, the largest amount recorded since the institute began monitoring deforestation rates in 2016.

President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro has been targeted by climate lawyers over the accelerated destruction of the Amazon.