Leonardo DiCaprio Turns Earth Day Into a Powerful Call for Climate Action

On Earth Day, Leonardo DiCaprio took to Instagram to blast a pending House vote to gut the Endangered Species Act, calling it a sellout of the planet’s future to the short-term profits of a wealthy few.

Leonardo DiCaprio spent Earth Day doing exactly what you probably expect Leonardo DiCaprio to do: using his platform to yell about conservation policy. This time, it is the Endangered Species Act on the chopping block, and he is not subtle about it.

What Leo posted, and why

On April 22, DiCaprio took to Instagram and told his 60 million followers that the U.S. House of Representatives was moving to vote on the ESA Amendments Act of 2025 ( H.R. 1897) — a package he says would effectively gut the Endangered Species Act. In his words, the trade-off is short-term profits for a wealthy few versus, well, the future of life on Earth. No hedging there.

He also reminded everyone how we got the ESA in the first place: it became law in 1973, signed by President Richard Nixon after sailing through Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support — 92-0 in the Senate and 355-4 in the House. The core idea was simple and sweeping: protect threatened and endangered fish, wildlife, and plants, and actually recover them through habitat safeguards and recovery plans.

DiCaprio argues the new bill would hit the most vulnerable species hardest — the ones that keep ecosystems functioning — and even framed the rollback as a national security risk. He plugged his conservation group Re:Wild (that is @rewild on social) and told people to make noise before the vote.

"Call your U.S. Representative today to urge them to vote 'no' on the ESA Amendments Act of 2025 (H.R. 1897). U.S. Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121."

What the fight is actually about

Environmental groups say H.R. 1897 would strip away many of the ESA's core protections — especially habitat rules — and force agencies to weigh economic impacts over scientific assessments when deciding how to protect species. One advocate, Chris Allieri of the NYC Plover Project, told ABC7 on Tuesday, April 1, that the bill would leave the law in name only. He pointed to the ESA's track record as the counterargument: roughly 99% of species listed under the act are still around, which is kind of the point.

The quick version

• The vote: The House is set to take up the ESA Amendments Act of 2025 (H.R. 1897), and Leo is trying to rally calls against it on Earth Day.
• What the ESA does: Since 1973, it has protected threatened and endangered fish, wildlife, and plants, with tools to safeguard habitat and recover populations.
• How it started: Signed by President Richard Nixon after overwhelming votes — 92-0 in the Senate; 355-4 in the House.
• What critics say the new bill does: Dismantles key protections (including habitat safeguards) and tilts decisions toward economic concerns over science.
• Why that matters: Advocates note about 99% of listed species have avoided extinction under the ESA — evidence that the law works as designed.
• Leo's ask: Call your representative and say no to H.R. 1897; he boosted the U.S. Capitol switchboard number: 202-224-3121. He also flagged his org Re:Wild (@rewild) in the push.

How Leo got here

DiCaprio has been doing this for a long time. He has said that after Titanic, he went deep on environmental work. In a 2015 interview with Wired, he recounted a White House meeting with Al Gore where Gore literally drew a chalkboard sketch of Earth and its thin atmosphere, then told him climate change was the biggest threat humanity had ever faced. That was the pivot point.

From there, he took part in Earth Day in 1999, started a foundation, and became increasingly vocal — especially after Gore's documentary pushed the issue into the mainstream. These days, he regularly campaigns for conservation through Re:Wild and across his social feeds.

Bottom line

A major ESA overhaul getting a vote on Earth Day is quite a choice. DiCaprio is using his megaphone to make sure people notice — and to put pressure on the House before the roll call.