For the past two months, there’s been some undercover speculation about Leonardo DiCaprio and what he would do to win an Oscar. The speculation centered around the red string Leo has been wearing to every event. It looks a lot like the old-school Kabbalah string that trendy Kabbalah-friendly celebrities used to wear regularly. While Kabbalah is no longer the go-to trendy celebrity religion (I think the current trend is Christianity for douche-bros), there are still some true believers in Hollywood, and there was some talk that Leo was pandering to Kabbalahists with his red string. But no! He’s not trying to get in with the Kabbalah faction. He just went to Cambodia and he was given the string at Angkor Wat.
No! Leo DiCaprio has not converted to Kabbalah. He sparked speculation after he was spotted wearing a red bracelet — a symbol of the Jewish mysticism practiced by celebs like Madonna — while meeting his High Holiness Pope Francis on Jan. 28. He was also seen wearing the adornment at the SAG Awards and during a Q & A for “The Revenant” in December.
However, a source tells us the string is actually a bracelet he picked up at Angkor Wat in Cambodia when visiting with his family and best friend Lukas Haas in November.
The bracelets, popular with tourists, are given by monks in return for a donation and are said to bring good luck. Leo is already a favorite to win an Oscar this month, but every bit helps.
Aw, a boys’ trip to Cambodia! That actually sounds like fun. I’m sure Lukas Haas enjoyed that. Lukas is pretty much Leo’s ride-or-die BFF at this point, right? Lukas has been traveling with Leo throughout The Revenant publicity tour, and he got to take a special vacay to Cambodia with Leo. Sweet. Anyway, it does crack me up a little bit to see Leo trying to hit all of his religious bases in his quest for Oscar – he not only met with Pope Francis but he gave the Pope a big check for charity. He apparently donated money to the Buddhist monks in Cambodia. I’m sure Leo is writing checks to SHOAH or some Jewish charities too. So what’s next? Meeting an imam? Getting blessed by a swami?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
