Leonardo DiCaprio has been called a hypocrite after traveling 8,000 miles on his private jet to claim an award for his tireless environmental campaigning.
The Catch Me If You Can star was on the French Riviera this week (beg16May16) at the Cannes Film Festival, and jetted back to New York on Wednesday (18May16) to collect an environmental honor at the Riverkeeper Fishermen’s Ball.
And, just 24 hours later, he jetted back to Cannes for amfAR’s Cinema Against AIDS gala, where he auctioned off a week long stay at his Palm Springs, California, residence for $500,000 .
Environmental analyst Robert Rapier told PageSix.com that DiCaprio was hypocritical to lecture others on reducing their carbon emissions, and said the actor's lifestyle "diminishes his moral authority to lecture others on reducing their own carbon emissions".
"(He) 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.” Rapier added.
"Everybody says, ‘I’ve got a good reason for consuming what I consume’... It’s the exact same rationalisation for billions of people."
DiCaprio even posted a picture of himself at the event in New York, which was hosted by Andy Cohen at Chelsea Piers. Robert De Niro was among the honorees at the ceremony, which featured Sting as the evening's performer.
Posting a photo of himself onstage accepting his award, Leonardo wrote on Instagram: "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."
The actor's foundation recently pledged $15 million to support environmental causes at the World Economic Forum, and he famously mentioned climate change in his Oscar acceptance speech earlier this year (16).
"Climate change is real. It is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species," he said at the ceremony, after he won Best Actor for his role in The Revenant.