Brazil’s President Fires Back at Leonardo DiCaprio: He ‘Better Keep His Mouth Shut’ About the Amazon

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro fired back at Leonardo DiCaprio after the Oscar winner used social media to stress the importance of the Amazon rainforest on the environment. DiCaprio has been urging Brazilians to register to vote in the upcoming election in an effort to help save the Amazon, which has been severely affected by deforestation during Bolsonaro’s presidency. CNN reported in April that that the Amazon rainforest hit a new record for deforestation in 2022.

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

Speaking at Brazil’s Alvorada Palace on May 3, Bolsonaro said (via CNN), “Now, DiCaprio has to know that it was the very president of the World Trade Organization who said that without Brazilian agribusiness, the world would be hungry. So, DiCaprio better keep his mouth shut instead of talking nonsense.”

Bolsonaro originally replied to DiCaprio on Twitter, writing in a response to the actor, “Thanks for your support, Leo! It’s really important to have every Brazilian voting in the coming elections. 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.'”

DiCaprio is well known for being a climate activist and runs The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which “supports projects around the world that build climate resiliency, protect vulnerable wildlife and restore balance to threatened ecosystems and communities.”

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