Leonardo DiCaprio has been accused of financing the devastating wildfire that raged through the Amazon this summer.
Sky News reports that Brazillian President Jair Bolsonaro leveled the accusation against the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star, without any apparent evidence to back up his claim.
Bolsonaro reportedly told his supporters, “This Leonardo DiCaprio's a cool guy, isn't he? Giving money for the Amazon to be torched.”
According to The Guardian, the populist leader also took to Facebook Live to accuse the actor of “collaborating with the burning of the Amazon,” and being part of an international “campaign against Brazil”.
The president's accusations relate to the recent arrest of four volunteer firefighters accused (also without evidence) of setting a fire in one of the Amazon's forests in an attempt to stimulate support for an international NGO. The four firefighters have since been released without charge.
The DiCaprio-backed Earth Alliance actually committed $5 million to “focus critical resources for indigenous communities and other local partners working to protect the life-sustaining biodiversity of the Amazon against the surge of fires currently burning across the region” back in August. The actor was outspoken about the need to protect the biodiversity of the rainforest and the wellbeing of the indigenous people who live there.
