RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Actor Mark Ruffalo, who played Hulk in the eponymous movie, resorted to social media on Sunday, December 1st, to defend Leonardo DiCaprio from Jair Bolsonaro’s allegations.
Both the Brazilian president and his son, federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, accuse DiCaprio of funding Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to “set fire” to the Amazon.
“Bolsonaro and his crew are making scapegoats out of the people who protect the Amazon from the fires that he himself allowed to happen. Ask yourself: What has recently changed in Brazil to make this happen now? It has changed with Bolsonaro and his (non)environmental policies,” Ruffalo wrote.
The allegations started when Eduardo published on his social media on Thursday, November 28th, that the actor had donated ” US$300,000 to the NGO that set fire to the Amazon”. The president’s son further says that “the NGO WWF paid R$70,000 for photos of the burning forest”.
During his weekly live broadcast, also on Thursday, Bolsonaro reinforced Eduardo’s theory. “An NGO paid R$70,000 for an edited photo of burning. What’s easier? Setting the bush on fire. Take a picture, film it, send it to the NGO, the NGO publishes it, contacts Leonardo DiCaprio and Leonardo DiCaprio donates US$500,000 to the NGO. Leonardo DiCaprio, you are contributing to the fires in the Amazon,” the president said.
The participation of NGOs in the Amazon fires was challenged by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) and the Federal Police.
The MPF also challenged the competence of the Civil Police to lead the investigation.