A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on Nov 30, 2019 at 7:48am PST
In a statement posted on his Instagram page on Sunday, DiCaprio said the groups are “worthy of support,” but denied donating to them.
“The future of these irreplaceable ecosystems is at stake and I am proud to stand with the groups protecting them. While worthy of support, we did not fund the organizations targeted.”
Bolsonaro’s comments came after a two non-profit groups in the Brazilian state of Pará had their headquarters raided by police this week.
The Associated Press reported that four volunteer firefighters were also arrested with local police saying they are being investigated on suspicion of deliberately igniting the fires to get funding. They have denied the allegation and have since been released on a judge’s order.
Bolsonaro’s comments about DiCaprio appear to center around allegations made on social media that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) had paid for images taken by the firefighters and then used them to solicit donations, including a $500,000 contribution from DiCaprio, according to Reuters. The WWF has denied receiving a donation from DiCaprio or obtaining photographs from the arrested firefighters. Newsweek has contacted the organization for further comment.
“So what did the NGO do? What is the easiest thing? Set fire to the forest. Take pictures, make a video,” Bolsonaro said during a live webcast on Thursday, according to Reuters.
