Leonardo DiCaprio forced to skip film festival by Venezuela strikes

Leonardo DiCaprio was forced to skip the Palm Springs International Film Festival by travel restrictions enacted after the U.S. airstrikes on Venezuela.

The 51-year-old movie star was glimpsed on New Year's Eve relaxing on Jeff Bezos' yacht in the Caribbean Sea, just off St. Barts.

Venezuela, which has a Caribbean coastline, came under American bombardment in the early hours of Saturday in a raid that resulted in the abduction of Marxist dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who have been flown to New York.

Caribbean air travel was thrown into disarray, and DiCaprio's trip to Palm Springs to be honored at the film festival has been compromised.

He was scheduled to receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award for his role in Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, a dark comedy about leftist militants.

However an insider told the Daily Mail it was announced at the ceremony that DiCaprio could not attend because of restricted airspace.

'It was, however, a wonderful moment in the room,' the source shared exclusively with the Daily Mail. 'A beautiful tribute from his co-stars and an amazing reel.'

DiCaprio accepted the award via video and his speech was a 'hit,' the insider said, adding that he received applause both for the honor and for his remarks.

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The Palm Springs International Film Festival also confirmed DiCaprio's physical absence from the ceremony in a statement provided to Deadline. 

'Leonardo DiCaprio is unable to join us in person tonight due to unexpected travel disruptions and restricted airspace,' the organization stated. 

'While we will miss celebrating with him in person, we are honored to recognize his exceptional work and lasting contributions to cinema,' they continued.

'His talent and dedication to the craft continue to inspire, and we are delighted to celebrate him with the Desert Palm Achievement Award this evening.'

Although he was unable to attend the festival, his One Battle After Another co-stars Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti took the stage there Saturday to pay homage to him, and they accepted his trophy on his behalf.

One Battle After Another has emerged as one of the toasts of awards season, with the most Golden Globe nominations of any movie from the past year.

The glittering cast includes Sean Penn, Regina Hall, Benicio Del Toro, Alana Haim and even the legendary former Saturday Night Live writer Jim Downey, who collaborated with Norm Macdonald on the latter's Weekend Update segments.

DiCaprio was seen on New Year's Eve with his 27-year-old Italian girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti, luxuriating on Bezos' yacht off the coast of St. Barts.

While basking in the Caribbean sunshine, he showed off his recently slimmed-down frame, which has been grabbing headlines over the past year.

He was once again spotted yachting off St. Barts on New Year's Day, this time accompanied by his friend Tom Brady, 48, who had been glimpsed putting on a handsy display with influencer Alix Earle, 25, the previous evening.

Earle is newly single, having split from her NFL boyfriend Braxton Berrios, 30, just weeks ago following a relationship of more than two years.