Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has met 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, calling her a “leader of our time” and saying that they have made “a commitment to support one another,” as he posted two photos of him and Thunberg posing on a sunny hillside to his Instagram account.
“It was an honor to spend time with Greta. She and I have made a commitment to support one another, in hopes of securing a brighter future for our planet,” wrote the actor of Thunberg, who rose to become the figurehead of the Fridays for Future movement and has an impressive number of awards and accolades in her portfolio.Leonardo Dicaprio photographed with fellow environmentalist Greta Thunberg. pic.twitter.com/jLBXE9x6Jy
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) November 1, 2019
As the Titanic star extolled the teen’s commitment to climate activism, he wrote:
“There are few times in human history where voices are amplified at such pivotal moments and in such transformational ways – but @GretaThunberg has become a leader of our time.”
The 44-year-old DiCaprio summed up:
“History will judge us for what we do today to help guarantee that future generations can enjoy the same livable planet that we have so clearly taken for granted. I hope that Greta’s message is a wake-up call to world leaders everywhere that the time for inaction is over.”
Social media users were split in their response to the posts, with some staunchly applauding the efforts of the environmentalists:
Soyons clairs, c’est Leonardo Di Caprio qui pose à côté de @GretaThunberg et pas le contraire ! Bien joué Greta ! Lets be clear! Leonardo Dicaprio is posing next to Greta Thunberg and not the other way! Well done Greta! #feminism #climate https://t.co/2Zicc3XVea
— Rachel Savin-Puget 💜✊🏻🌏 (@RSavinPuget) November 2, 2019
Leonardo di Caprio supports Greta Thunberg. Great!!! https://t.co/XOQPAoBMFx
— Oliver Plischek (@OliverPlischek) November 1, 2019
We watch all Leonard Di Caprio movies & we respect Greta Thunberg & wish them all the success in this world for saving the Climate . https://t.co/vruWkDJN49
— fadi (@fadi15336393) November 2, 2019
So lovely to see her smile! It must be a relief for her to find someone who is listening, someone who is on the same page.
— Charlotte thaarup (@Mindful_Char) November 2, 2019
Other comments on social media were not so positive, as users lambasted the actor and the climate activist as “hypocrites”.
Yeah, nothing more beautiful than an "eco-warrior" sitting there smiling with a guy who flies around in gas-guzzling jets and diesel-guzzling yachts all day long.
— Orange (@Canilope13) November 2, 2019
Super rich befriending super rich familys. Hypocrit uses jets all the time and flash cars 🤦♂️
— Athers (@GlennAthers91) November 2, 2019
The person in this picture is one of the greatest actor of our times...
— Dr.P.S.VishnuVardhan (@drpsvvardhan) November 2, 2019
The other person is Leonardo Di Caprio#SaturdayThoughts #LeonardoDiCaprio #GretaThunberg pic.twitter.com/cZeVGhVCWR
— jsun (@jsunny1981) November 2, 2019
Two hypocrites side by side, both of these people have released more carbon into the atmosphere that most of us will ever.
— Boxing Memes 🥊 (@BoxingMemesUK) November 2, 2019
thousands of environment activists, scientists, entrepreneurs are working selflessly day in day out but out of all of them he finds her as real crusader. when will we recognise the real heroes of humanity and environment. what contribution did she make except acting brilliantly.
— Shishir Dwivedi (@shishir_banaras) November 2, 2019
I’m glad they hit it off. Maybe DiCaprio can show Greta his private jet which he uses to pick up environmental awards or the 400 foot yacht he holidays on which is owned by a Middle Eastern oil billionaire.
— Dejan Belgrenius (@DejanBelgrenius) November 2, 2019
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has long touted his climate activism efforts on social media and at Hollywood events.
Thus, when accepting the Oscar for The Revenant in 2016, he spoke about climate change and urged viewers to act, saying:
“Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating,” he said.
