The Revenant director thought Leonardo DiCaprio 'bear rape' story was 'hilarious - like a crazy mad comedy'

'When I first saw it I thought it was a joke'

Jack Shepherd
Sunday 06 December 2015 10:36 GMT
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According to one hysterical early viewer of The Revenant, Oscar hopeful Leonardo DiCaprio was raped by a bear in the film, leading to headline’s such as ‘DICAPRIO RAPED BY BEAR IN FOX MOVIE’.

The news story everyone very confused, including director Alejandro Inarritu.

“When I first saw it I thought it was a joke,” he told reporters according to the LA Times. “It's almost a Saturday Night Live skit. It's fantastic.”

The 52-year-old, who is renowned for his media aversion, was reportedly laughing as he critiqued how these types of stories are picked up on.

"I find it hilarious, and pathetic in a way. You have one guy in a garage inventing something that’s then shared by somebody else. And then a newspaper acknowledges it as news, and then it triggers papers around the world.

The Revenant - Trailer 2

“What's unbelievable is the validation. When I first saw it I thought it was a joke. But then it gets validation, and the studio actually has to release a statement that there was no bear rape. It's like a crazy mad comedy."

The story originated from showbiz journalist Roger Friedman's report that in one scene "the bear flips Glass [DiCaprio's character] over on his belly and molests him - dry humps him actually."

It was soon picked up on by the Drudge Report, who wrote the now infamous headline “DICAPRIO RAPED BY BEAR IN FOX MOVIE”.

Fox were soon forced to issue a statement debunking the rumour, assuring viewers the Wold of Wall Street star is not raped but attacked by the bear after she feels his character may threaten her cubs.

DiCaprio recently described The Revenant as “his most difficult film” and told Yahoo! that the bear attack scene will be “one of the most immersive experiences audiences will ever have with what it would be like to come face-to-face with an animal of that magnitude that is incredibly primal”.

The Revenant arrives in UK cinemas on 15 January 2016.

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