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The 41-year-old, Oscar winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio, expanded his carbon footprint by over 8,000 miles flying from Cannes to New York and back again to accept the award.
DiCaprio left the French Riviera for New York City to attend the Riverkeeper Fishermen’s Ball. He then took another private jet back to France to attend the amfAR (The Foundation of AIDS Research) gala in Antibes, alongside Uma Thurman, Katy Perry, Heidi Klum and Orlando Bloom.
The Revenant actor joined a long list of celebrities at the Riverkeeper Fisherman’s Ball, including Ralph Lauren and Robert De Niro. DiCaprio was honoured by the clean-water advocacy group alongside Robert De Niro for his efforts to raise climate change awareness.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation also donated $15million (US) to the World Economic Forum to help with various environmental causes. According the to the website, Leo’s foundation has donated $45million (US) since 1998.
Leo took to Instagram after the Ball, captioning the following picture,
“It was an honor to join Ralph Lauren, Robert De Niro, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & more to support @Riverkeeper’s critical work to create and protect a healthier future for millions of people. Click the link in the bio to learn more.”
Whilst Leo helped both events raise funds for their respective causes, he is facing a backlash from the media for choosing to use a private jet to attend both events. However this isn’t the first time Leo, who turned his Oscars speech into a climate change warning, has been accused of hypocrisy before.
Environmentalist Robert Rapier told The New York Times’ Page Six:
“[Leo] demonstrates exactly why our consumption of fossil fuels continues to grow. It’s because everyone loves the combination of cost and convenience they offer. Alternatives usually require sacrifice of one form or another. Everybody says, ‘I’ve got a good reason for consuming what I consume’ … It’s the exact same rationalization for billions of people.”
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