Hollywood climate change hypocrite Leonardo DiCaprio stirred up a hornet’s nest when he lamented — falsely, apparently — on Twitter this week about deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon region.
As he posted an animated map, DiCaprio tweeted to his 19.6 million followers: “How extensive is deforestation in Amazonia, one of the most important places on the planet for people & wildlife? According to this map from @mapbiomas, the region has faced an onslaught of illegal deforestation at the hands of extractive industry over the last 3 years.” He also wrote in Portuguese, the country’s most widely spoken language.
How extensive is deforestation in Amazonia, one of the most important places on the planet for people & wildlife? According to this map from @mapbiomas, the region has faced an onslaught of illegal deforestation at the hands of extractive industry over the last 3 years. pic.twitter.com/BLxUC3S3z7
— Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) July 26, 2022
That earned him some scathing condemnation from Brazilian President Jair Bolosonaro.
“You again, Leo? This way, you will become my best electoral cable, as we say in Brazil! I could tell you, again, to give up your yacht before lecturing the world, but I know progressives: you want to change the entire world but never yourselves, so I will let you off the hook,” Bolsonaro responded.
– You again, Leo? This way, you will become my best electoral cable, as we say in Brazil! I could tell you, again, to give up your yacht before lecturing the world, but I know progressives: you want to change the entire world but never yourselves, so I will let you off the hook. https://t.co/FxCnqhFv6D
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) July 28, 2022
He added: “- Between us, it’s weird to see a dude who pretends to love the Planet paying more attention to Brazil than to the fires harming Europe and his own country. One may wonder if you’re obsessed with my country (or its resources) or if you just believe Brazil is the only one on Earth.”
– Between us, it’s weird to see a dude who pretends to love the Planet paying more attention to Brazil than to the fires harming Europe and his own country. One may wonder if you’re obsessed with my country (or its resources) or if you just believe Brazil is the only one on Earth
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) July 28, 2022
“But don’t worry, Leo, unlike the places you are pretending not to see by brilliantly playing the role of a blind man, Brazil is and will carry on being the nation that most preserves. You can carry on playing with your Hollywood star toys as we do our job,” he continued in another tweet.
– Actually, in my government average deforestation is way lower than it was in the past, when the crook turned candidate that your Brazilian buddy supports was in power.
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) July 28, 2022
The Brazilian president wasn’t done.
“Actually, in my government average deforestation is way lower than it was in the past, when the crook turned candidate that your Brazilian buddy supports was in power,” he added. “It’s clear that everyone who attacks Brazil and its sovereignty for the sake of virtue signaling doesn’t have a clue about the matter. They don’t know, for instance, that we preserve more than 80% of our native vegetation or that we have the cleanest energy among G20 nations.”
– It’s clear that everyone who attacks Brazil and its sovereignty for the sake of virtue signaling doesn’t have a clue about the matter. They don’t know, for instance, that we preserve more than 80% of our native vegetation or that we have the cleanest energy among G20 nations.
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) July 28, 2022
“It’s also clear that you don’t know that my government announced a new commitment to eradicate illegal deforestation by 2028, and not by 2030 as most countries. Or maybe you do know that, but for some reason pretend to be ignorant. I hope you not getting too much for this role,” Bolsonaro noted in a jab. “If its within your reach, we would love to see you stop spreading misinformation [sp]. In the recent past, you used a 2003 image to talk about the Amazon wildfires allegedly happening in 2019 and was exposed, but I have forgiven you. So please go and sin no more.”
– If its within your reach, we would love to see you stop spreading missinformation. In the recent past, you used a 2003 image to talk about the Amazon wildfires allegedly happening in 2019 and was exposed, but I have forgiven you. So please go and sin no more.
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) July 28, 2022
DiCaprio has been blasted in the past for his hypocrisy — on the one hand, stumping for massive reductions in fossil fuel use for the majority of the global population while at the same time engaging in “extensive usage of private jets to travel around the globe for both business and pleasure,” Forbes reported in 2016.
“In 2014 he famously rented the world’s fifth largest yacht, owned by a UAE oil tycoon, to watch the World Cup in Brazil. In case you are wondering, neither the jets nor the yacht run on solar power,” the outlet added.
