Leonardo DiCaprio will not be in attendance at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Saturday night due to restrictive airspace amid the ongoing political conflict in Venezuela.
He was set to be honored with the Desert Palm Achievement Award attached to Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. Despite his absence, DiCaprio will still have his presence known during the Film Awards as a source indicates to The Hollywood Reporter he will send in a recorded acceptance speech that will play after a tribute from his One Battle After Another co-stars Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti.
The Oscar winner was recently spotted in St. Barts amid the New Year.
DiCaprio is among a pool of A-listers who are slated to be recognized at the awards gala on Saturday, including Timothée Chalamet, Miley Cyrus, Kate Hudson, Adam Sandler, Rose Byrne, Michael B. Jordan, Amanda Seyfried and Ethan Hawke, plus the filmmakers and casts of Frankenstein, Hamnet and Sentimental Value.
Earlier Saturday, President Donald Trump said the United States would “run” Venezuela after leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife were seized overnight from their home on a military base, per the Associated Press. The U.S. president also shared a photo of Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima on Truth Social.
The Palm Springs International Airport released a statement on X in the afternoon on Saturday, indicating that an “FAA air traffic control issue impacting SoCal airspace today. Departing flights are under a ground stop. Aircraft have been able to arrive, though some inbound flights have diverted and delays are expected.” A few hours later, the airport released a follow-up statement, which read, “The FAA ground stop impacting flights at Palm Springs International Airport has been lifted. Departures and arrivals will begin to slowly resume, though delays are expected to continue as operations normalize. Travelers should check flights with airline.”
Variety was first to report that DiCaprio would miss the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala.
More to come.
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