Leonardo DiCaprio Is Embracing Kabbalah (Maybe)

Image by Getty Images
Is Leonardo DiCaprio jumping on the Kabbalah bandwagon?
The New York Daily News reported today that the actor was seen at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood donning a red string on his wrist during a Q&A for “The Revenant,” his latest film about a frontiersman who’s attacked by a bear and left for dead.
The source told the Daily News the bracelet looked like a Kabbalah one, but that the actor did not address his new wristlet during the event.
DiCaprio would by no means be the first celebrity to wear a Kabbalah bracelet. In the early 2000s, Madonna made it trendy in Hollywood when she converted dozens of actors and actresses to the Jewish school of thought, which utilizes mysticism as a means of interpretation and relies on the spiritual.
Among her followers were Britney Spears — although there were gossip reports at the time that Spears eventually denounced the ideology, a move that began a catfight with Madonna — David and Victoria Beckham, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, Gwenyth Paltrow, Goldie Hawn, Paris Hilton, Mariah Carey, Mick Jagger, Reese Witherspoon. The list goes on.
Today, even younger, more relevant stars have begun wearing the string. Harry Styles has worn it on his left wrist during concerts and Ariana Grande sported it in her music video for “Break Free.”
The bracelet may be the most distinctive symbol of Kabbalism. It’s tied seven times and meant to ward off the Evil Eye. If DiCaprio’s bracelet is in fact the kind worn by Kabbalists, he could have used it in “The Revenant” to ward off the bear.
Britta Lokting is the Forward’s culture fellow.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.