Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has accused American actor, producer, and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio of making donations to non-profit organisations that, as he claimed, are behind some of the fires in the Amazon rainforest.
"DiCaprio is a cool guy, isn't he? Giving money to set the Amazon on fire", he said in an interview.
Jair Bolsonaro voltou a culpar ONGs, sem provas, pelas queimadas na Amazônia e criticou Leonardo DiCaprio por fazer doações.
— Haddad Debochado (@HaddadDebochado) November 28, 2019
“Uma ONG ali pagou R$ 70 mil por uma foto fabricada de queimada” pic.twitter.com/LhR99iHUVA
However, the president did not provide any evidence to support the accusation against the famous actor.
Bolsonaro's comment has enraged netizens, who started to condemn the Brazilian president for making such an allegation.
"You must have a lot of courage to accuse a successful man, loved by the public, a philanthropist, and a smart environmentalist of setting fire to the Amazon without any evidence! Bolsonaro is an ungrateful man", one Twitter user said.
Tem que ter muita coragem para acusar um homem bem sucedido, amado pelo público, ATIVISTA AMBIENTAL, filantropo, e inteligente de tacar fogo na Amazônia e ainda SEM PROVAS! Bolsonaro é um homem INGRATO! Leonardo DiCaprio maior e melhor. Meu crush eterno pic.twitter.com/dMH1xtso0r
— Isa ☀️ (@isadorrraaa) November 29, 2019
"Wow, is the president for real? Web Divo Jair Bolsonaro raves once again and claims that Leonardo DiCaprio pays NGOs to burn down the Amazon forests", another Twitterian noted.
Nossa, presidente é verdade mesmo? Web Divo Jair Bolsonaro delira mais uma vez e afirma que Leonardo DiCaprio paga ONG's para incendiarem a Amazônia.#Surto #Amazonia pic.twitter.com/2ElgZpPtBm
— GN (@GN_extended) November 29, 2019
"What, Bolsonaro? The only thing left is to blame Leonardo DiCaprio for Amazon fires", claimed yet another social media user.
Mano, o Bolsonaro?!?!?!?!?! Agora sobrou culpa da queimada na Amazônia pro Leonardo DiCaprio?!?!?!?! pic.twitter.com/7EDmccWzvr
— Dred (@aandredias) November 29, 2019
"When Leonardo DiCaprio wakes up and sees that Bolsonaro blames him for Amazon fires. God, what schizophrenia!" another user noted.
Leonardo DiCaprio acordando e vendo que o bolsonaro culpa ele pelas queimadas na Amazônia. pic.twitter.com/f6RozOz3MV
— Mariana (@Marihnevess) November 29, 2019
The fires in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and neighbouring countries gained international attention in August for their scale and destructiveness. World leaders and environmentalists have been calling on the Brazilian government to do more to stop the fires.
French President Emmanuel Macron suggested discussing the issue at the G7 summit in Biarritz. The Brazilian president responded by lashing out at his French counterpart, accusing him of having colonial ambitions in Brazil and demanded that Macron take back the "insults" before he would accept G7 help in fighting the blaze. The French president, in turn, accused Bolsonaro of failing to honour climate goals and threatened to block the long-awaited EU-Mercosur free trade deal.
