SUNDAY 25 AUGUST 2019Why celebrities are welcome to
their climate soapboxes
The Amazon fire can no longer be ignored – thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio (AFP)
LUCY MCINERNEY
Earlier this week, Leonardo DiCaprio posted an image of a forest fire on Instagram.
In the caption, he explained that the Brazilian Amazon had been burning for 16 days,
yet most people hadn’t heard about it.There can be no denying that the ripple effect of his Instagram post has been impressive. The Oscar winner
has in excess of 34 million followers on the platform and within hours, the post had more than 3.6 million
likes. Other celebrities such as singer Ariana Grande and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo joined the cause and
global indignation reached fever pitch. The devastating fire and the Brazilian president’s cavalier attitude
towards saving the rainforest could no longer be ignored.