Leonardo DiCaprio Doesn't Attend The Palm Springs International Film Awards
The 51-year-old Killers of the Flower Moon actor and activist informed the event's organizers ahead of time that he would be unable to attend, amid the Trump administration's military action in Venezuela.
According to reports, the Oscar-winner was "stuck in St. Barts," where he was vacationing with girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti and friends, due to air restrictions in the Caribbean amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela.
"Leonardo DiCaprio is unable to join us in person tonight due to unexpected travel disruptions and restricted airspace," a spokesperson for the Palm Springs International Film Festival reportedly told People.
They added: "While we will miss celebrating with him in person, we are honored to recognize his exceptional work and lasting contributions to cinema. His talent and dedication to the craft continue to inspire, and we are delighted to celebrate him with the Desert Palm Achievement Award this evening."
Palm Springs International Airport revealed that departing flights were under a ground stop via a statement on January 3rd. The statement read: "An FAA air traffic control issue is impacting Southern California airspace today. Aircraft have been able to arrive, though some inbound flights have diverted, and delays are expected. This is not specific to PSP and is affecting multiple SoCal airports."
Internet Reactions
The internet was understandably full of comments. While some people were genuinely disappointed not to see DiCaprio at the event, many others wasted no time mocking what they saw as a very privileged problem.
"Oh poor baby. Must be so tough," one Instagram user sarcastically wrote, as a second echoed: "Feel sooooo sorry for him. Stuck in St. Bart's. Oh, Lord, have mercy. We have been stuck here in Venezuela for almost 3 DECADES surrounded by criminals. Sorry, but not sorry."
"Awww poor thing, don't worry baby, us Venezuelans are also stuck in a dictatorship for more than 25 years, you're in St. Barts, don't worry," agreed a third, as a fourth quipped: "What a tragedy Leo."
"Stuck in St. Barts sounds absolutely awful!" exclaimed a fifth sarcastically, as a sixth replied: "Right?! Poor Leo." "Poor thing," concurred a seventh, as an eighth joked it was a "rough life." "I would also like to be stuck on this island, a great vacation," noted a ninth, followed by multiple crying laughing emojis.
"Rich white people problem," thought a tenth, as many others commented on his long-standing environmental activism and what they saw as hypocrisy. "Flying his [expletive] off whilst 'supporting' the planet," observed an eleventh, as a twelfth slammed: "Fake supporter of environment."
"Nobody cares," thought a thirteenth, followed by the crying laughing emoji, as a fourteenth chimed in: "Poor guy. Not. I like him as an actor but so weird, elitist, and entitled as a human. His predatory behavior around young women, yachting and exclusive vacations, but soapboxing on all the wrong things."