Update: Lead Stories has confirmed that this Leonardo DiCaprio did not donate $10 million to the Ukraine.
In an article that has since been deleted, the Daily Mail reported:
Hollywood megastar Leonardo DiCaprio has donated $10million (£7.6million) to a fund for Ukraine, where his grandmother was born in 1915.
The actor was reportedly very close with his grandmother – Helene Indenbirken – and would take her to premiers of many of his films. DiCaprio would call her ‘Oma’.
The donation from the 47-year-old was announced by the International Visegrad Fund, according to Polish News.
This news has also been debunked by Snopes and we deeply apologize for this error once again.
Original: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mila Kunis, and Ashton Kutcher are among the Hollywood celebrities who have donated substantial sums to Ukraine. The country is in a grave crisis as they continue to face Russian aggression. Actors, directors, and people from all walks of life have expressed their support for Ukraine.
According to The Daily Mail (in a now-deleted article), the iconic Oscar-winning actor, gave $ 10 million to the Ukrainian army’s needs. The actor has said several times that he is of Ukrainian descent. Elena Smirnova (1915-2008), his grandmother, used to live in Odessa.
After the October Revolution, she and her parents moved to Germany, where she married Wilhelm Indenbirken, a German. Leonardo’s grandfather and grandmother both escaped Nazi Germany during World War II.
Smirnova gave birth to her daughter Imerlin, the future star’s mother, in a bomb shelter during an air raid in 1943, just as Helen Indenbirken. As a result, Leo has firsthand knowledge of the horrors of war, thanks to his grandmother and mother.
During a meeting at Cambridge University, Robert De Niro stated that everything must be done to deter Russian aggression. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively invite Ukraine to participate in a fundraising event for Ukraine, promising to double every dollar raised.
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