Why Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro asked Leonardo DiCaprio to keep his mouth shut’

Just days after Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio urged voters in Brazil to take part in the upcoming election, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro slammed the ‘Inception’ star while addressing supporters gathered outside the Alvorada Palace on Thursday.

Last month, DiCaprio tweeted that “youth voting is key in driving change for a healthy planet.”

According to a report by CNN, Bolsonaro responded to the actor’s tweet and said: “Now, DiCaprio has to know that it was the very president of the World Trade Organization who said that without Brazilian agribusiness, the world would be hungry.” 

“So, DiCaprio better keep his mouth shut instead of talking nonsense,” the 67-year-old went on to say. 

Back in the month of April, DiCaprio called for Brazilian voters to register themselves for the elections in October.

“Brazil is home to the Amazon and other ecosystems critical to climate change,” he said on Twitter while sharing a link to a website that teaches how to register for voting. 

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“What happens there matters to us all, and youth voting is key in driving change for a healthy planet,” read the old tweet. 

 Moments later, Bolsonaro responded to the tweet and wrote: “Thanks for your support, Leo! It’s really important to have every Brazilian voting in the coming elections.”

“Our people will decide if they want to keep our sovereignty on the Amazon or be ruled by crooks who serve special foreign interests,” he wrote while mocking the actor’s statement. Taking a final dig, the president added: “Good job in ‘The Revenant’.”

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DiCaprio, the founder of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, is a strong advocate of environmental conservation.

Ever since Bolsonaro’s presidential reign, the Amazon rainforest has suffered a detrimental impact. According to CNN, the Brazilian President has continued weakening “environmental protections” by claiming that they jeopardize economic growth that could resolve issues of poverty in the region.