Page Six is part of the New York Post, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The Post has always had a hard-right lean, but I’m always fascinated to see which celebrities seem to draw a particular ire from the Post. Like, the Post absolutely loathes anything having to do with NBC, the Today Show and Matt Lauer and Brian Williams specifically. And they’re increasingly hyper-critical of Leonardo DiCaprio. I think it’s mainly about Leo’s years-long environmental work, and the Post scoffs at anyone who cares about the environment. So this ^^ was the cover of the NY Post this weekend. Leo took a private jet to and from Cannes so he could pick up an award for his environmental work.

Leo DiCaprio picked up an environmental award in NYC this week — but hypocritically expanded his carbon footprint by 8,000 miles when he obtained the honor, by taking a private jet from Cannes, then flying straight back to France on another jet for a model-packed fund-raiser a night later. DiCaprio was at the Cannes Film Festival this week, and was spotted there partying at club Gotha on Monday with model Georgia Fowler, then jetted back to New York for the Riverkeeper Fishermen’s Ball at Chelsea Piers on Wednesday, where he was honored by the clean-water advocacy group and Robert De Niro. Just 24 hours later, DiCaprio reappeared back in France for amfAR’s glitzy Cinema Against AIDS gala, where he gave a speech.

DiCaprio’s foundation just pledged $15 million to environmental causes at this year’s World Economic Forum. And during his Oscar acceptance speech, he said, “Climate change is real. It is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species.”

But he’s also been slammed for his use of private jets and yachts. Environmental analyst Robert Rapier, who said the actor’s movie-star lifestyle “diminishes his moral authority to lecture others on reducing their own carbon emissions,” told us of DiCaprio’s latest trips: “[He] demonstrates exactly why our consumption of fossil fuels continues to grow. It’s because everyone loves the combination of cost and convenience they offer. Alternatives usually require sacrifice of one form or another.” Rapier added, “Everybody says, ‘I’ve got a good reason for consuming what I consume’ .?.?. It’s the exact same rationalization for billions of people.”

But a source close to DiCaprio explained that the star did not charter his own flights, but merely “hitched a ride with someone already flying back [and] to Cannes. Hitching a ride was the only way he could make it in time for both events.”

The ­amfAR gala raised $25 million, including $500,000 for an auctioned stay at DiCaprio’s Palm Springs, Calif., home, while the Riverkeeper event brought in $1.6 million. His rep didn’t comment.

[From Page Six]

Leo consistently has this problem, where his own passionate advocacy for environmental issues is always going to be undercut by his own massive carbon footprint, from the private jets to the yachts to the pack of SUVs to the huge, unnecessary apartments and mansions. He’s always had this problem, so why is it so noteworthy right now? Is it because in this particular insistence, he was actually going to and from an event in which he won an environmental award? Probably. The thing is… I don’t actually doubt Leo’s commitment to environmental causes. I genuinely believe his heart is in the right place, and that he wants to help and do good work. Does he deserve to be written off just because he doesn’t practice what he preaches?

Also – the Daily Mail had an odd story about how Leo is becoming a “recluse” because even though he was in Cannes and he was seen partying and he attended the amfAR gala, he’s still really touchy about being seen. He canceled his own yacht party and “later took a mile-long helicopter ride to avoid being snapped on the red carpet” for the amfAR gala. As in, he took a helicopter from his rented villa to the gardens of the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc just so he wouldn’t have to walk the red carpet. Which should be used as another example of his crazy carbon footprint, not of his isolation.

Photos courtesy of the NY Post, Fame/Flynet.