{"id":23252,"date":"2026-10-17T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/?p=23252"},"modified":"2026-10-16T13:40:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T13:40:51","slug":"he-was-a-major-hollywood-heartthrob-but-new-pictures-of-leonardo-dicaprio-are-shocking-fans-its-brutal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/2026\/10\/17\/he-was-a-major-hollywood-heartthrob-but-new-pictures-of-leonardo-dicaprio-are-shocking-fans-its-brutal\/","title":{"rendered":"He was a major Hollywood heartthrob, but new pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio are shocking fans – it’s brutal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n\n\n\n

let’s talk about the Leonardo DiCaprio ‘dad bod’ narrative<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

He’s divided the internet in these new pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words Nikki Peach<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Recent pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio splashing around in the sea in Hawaii and walking along the beach in his trunks have sparked a wave of commentary, ranging from vile trolling to major envy from the female community \u2013 not for his girlfriend, but for his ability to glide through a cruel, critical and competitive industry without having to consume himself with looking perfect.
\u00a0
Without going into the granular detail of his appearance, DiCaprio no long inhabits the body that he did when he was in, say, Baz Luhrman\u2019s Romeo and Juliet<\/em>, or Danny Boyle\u2019s The Beach<\/em>. That might be because more than 25 years have passed. It\u2019s perfectly normal.
\u00a0
The Oscar-winning actor now inhabits what the internet likes to call a \u2018Dad bod\u2019, based on the fact he looks like your average Brit Abroad who enjoys a plate of nachos and six beers at lunchtime. He does not seem to be under pressure to fit in a cardio workout and a Pilates class every morning. He does not seem to be avoiding carbs. He seems happy, content and on holiday. Why wouldn\u2019t he be? He\u2019s Leonardo DiCaprio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, he has recevied some criticism from internet trolls. The comment section of certain tabloid outlets reads, ‘God, what happened?’, alongside ‘Oh my days no, we don’t need to see that’ and the particularly horrific ‘LeoLardo’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, much of the comments are about his much younger girlfriend, and there are far fewer than we ever see in the comment section of articles about women’s beach snaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 51, DiCaprio is living a life most middle-aged men could only dream of. He has just wrapped his seventh Martin Scorsese film, What Happens at Night<\/em>, in which he plays the lead role and stars opposite Jennifer Lawrence. Earlier this year, his film One Battle After Another <\/em>won the Oscar for Best Film. He has an estimated net worth of $300 million. And he\u2019s dating a 28-year-old Italian supermodel. Why wouldn\u2019t he be skipping along the sand without a care in the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘female actors from his generation are all expected to maintain age-defying looks.’ <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0
What\u2019s jarring is not DiCaprio\u2019s privilege \u2013 in an ideal world we\u2019d all be able to have six beers at lunch time and enjoy a dip in the sea next to the Four Seasons in Lanai \u2013 it\u2019s his male privilege. The female actors from his generation who are still thriving in their careers, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Eva Longoria, for example, are all expected to maintain age-defying looks and stay in impeccable shape to even be considered relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a well-established expectation for women in Hollywood to look perfect, or as close to it, for as long as possible even if doing so involves gruelling, regimented exercise regimes, cosmetic surgery or dieting. Those who thrive without abiding by these rules are few and far between, if anyone exists at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what makes the images of DiCaprio ultimately so confronting. It is not his \u2018Dad bod\u2019, it\u2019s that no woman is afforded the luxury of being able to look however they want (or crucially not care about how they look) while still being one of if not the most sought after actor in Hollywood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"leonardo\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DiCaprio\u2019s Titanic<\/em> co-star Kate Winslet springs to mind. She is the same age as DiCaprio and remains one of his closest friends. Winslet is still enjoying great success in her career, however whenever she is spotted in her swimwear, her body becomes a global talking point. Lest we forget how she was trolled for being ‘fat’ in Titanic<\/em>, but when the duo was pictured in their swimwear in Saint-Tropez in 2017, the commentary surrounding the photos was not just about the iconic reunion, but about Winslet\u2019s \u2018curvy\u2019 body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her last film Lee<\/em>, a biopic about the Second World War journalist Lee Miller, she revealed that in between takes while filming a scene where Miller is sat on a bench in a bikini, a crew member came over to her and suggested that she sit up straighter. \u2018So you can\u2019t see my belly rolls?\u2019 the actress replied. \u2018Not on your life!\u2019 Even when the character has a figure that does not meet today’s super-skinny standard, the actor playing her is expected to maintain it.
\u00a0
It\u2019s impossible to imagine a crew member approaching DiCaprio on set and telling him to tuck in his paunch or flex his chin. He is afforded to flexibility as one of the best actors in the world to simply exist in his body \u2013 if only women were afforded the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Winslet, for her part, knows that \u2018ageing naturally\u2019 and presenting a \u2018normal\u2019 unedited version of herself on screen is an act of rebellion in Hollywood, and that\u2019s part of what motivates her. \u2018I do think we have a responsibility to the younger generation of women,\u2019 she said back in 2015. \u2018I would always want to be telling the truth about who I am to that generation because they\u2019ve got to have strong leaders.\u2019
 
For women, whether you exist in your natural body or do all you can to preserve the one you had when you were 25, it\u2019s a conscious, political act and one that always invites judgement. For men, especially men like DiCaprio, existing in your body just means another day in paradise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n\n\n\n

Photos: GETTY<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s unpack the reaction, shall we?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":23253,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":{"article_authors":"Nikki Peach","send_as_draft":false,"send_as_paid":true,"send_as_featured":true},"modified_by":"guestgrazia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23252"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23264,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23252\/revisions\/23264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/graziav2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}