EXPOSING POP CULTURE
001. leonardo dicaprio's two main competitors

warning: this chapter includes mentions of suicide, drugs, && depression

AS WE ALL KNOW, Leonardo Dicaprio is one of the most beloved teen heartthrobs of the 20th && 21st centuries. From his "perfect" face to his funny personality, it wasn't hard to fall for Dicaprio.

If you don't know him, some of his famous roles include:

— Jack Dawson in Titanic
— Arnie Grape in What's Eating Gilbert Grape
— Romeo in Romeo & Juliet
— Jim Caroll in Basketball Diaries
— Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street
— Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby

. . . And Much More

Although his prime were in the '90s, there were of course many other teen heartthrobs alongside Leonardo such as, River Phoenix and Jonathan Brandis, or as Leonardo calls them

His main two competitors.

Leonardo Dicaprio looked up to River Phoenix, while he had some issues with Jonathan Brandis.

Jonathan's good friends have recently spoke out about how Leonardo and Jonathan didn't like each other very much. It's unknown as to why Leonardo didn't, but Jonathan didn't due to the fact of how Dicaprio acts like acting is just a whole competition. As if there's no point to it and Brandis had a huge passion for acting and directing.

It's known that Leonardo Dicaprio looked up to River Phoenix and his acting. He even confessed that he tried to be like him.

These two stars have unfortunately, both, passed away. River Phoenix passed due to an overdose of heroin and cocaine at Viper Room club in LA. Leonardo even claimed to have seen him the night he passed away.

Jonathan Brandis passed away due to suicide in 2003. It's been thought that the suicide was because of him not being cast in many movies in the late '90s to the early '00s, which supposedly made Brandis upset, but this has been recently proven false. His father, Greg Brandis, recently came out and told PEOPLE Magazine:

Now onto the real disturbing issue. Rolling Stone Magazine interviewed Dicaprio on him "facing his demons".

In this article, he speaks about how luckily things were easy for him the '90s.

Things seem to be going well in the interview, until he drops some shade on, obviously, Jonathan Brandis && River Phoenix.

It looks as if he's making himself seem like the "innocent kid."

"Wow, how lucky are to not have hung out with that crowd or done those things?" This is hinting at River Phoenix's overdose to heroin and cocaine.

River was not a regular drug user and only used marijuana, cocaine, and heroin with some friends.

What Dicaprio states in this phrase seems very insensitive. The fact alone that he doesn't name "his  two main competitors" is dishonorable enough.

He could've stated this more carefully, then treating their deaths like it was their fault. It's very insensitive to the family, friends, and fans of River Phoenix & Jonathan Brandis.

I haven't seen many people hold Leonardo accountable for his words, which were stated as a grown adult.

How would you feel if someone spoke about you or a dear friend in this way?