Award-winning Hollywood actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the Amazon rainforest on Saturday as he released an official statement after being accused by Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro of funding the fires recently set in the Amazon, according to an article published by the New York Times.

DiCaprio posted on Instagram, "At this time of crisis for the Amazon, I support the people of Brazil working to save their natural and cultural heritage." He also described the Brazilians as "an amazing, moving and humbling example of the commitment and passion needed to save the environment."

Last week, the Brazilian president accused the international environmental organization World Wildlife Fund for buying the images taken by volunteer firefighters of the Alter do Chão fire brigade who set the fire incident on purpose and then utilizing the images to ask for donations to which DiCaprio contributed $500,000.

The World Wildlife Fund denied these allegations.

Bolsonaro has often criticized activist and environmentalist groups for raising their concerns over the Amazon fires. In a Facebook Live post in August, the president noted that "everything indicates" that nongovernmental organizations were behind the fires in the Amazon but failed to present an evidence to support the allegation.

In August, DiCaprio was one of the many celebrities and politicians who raised the president's eyebrow for sharing inaccurate or misleading photos of the blazes, including the old ones or from places far from the Amazon, despite the purpose of urging support for the rainforest.

In a press briefing in front of the presidential residence on Friday, Bolsonaro commented on DiCaprio, "Cool guy, right? Giving money to torch the Amazon."

Politicians and other organizations widely condemned the arrest of the firefighters and called it another move by the far-right president to persecute these groups.

In the same statement posted, the actor stressed, "While worthy of support, we did not fund the organizations targeted." He also said that with the future of the Amazon rainforest at stake, he was proud to stand by the groups protecting "these irreplaceable ecosystems."

Furthermore, DiCaprio said he remains "committed to supporting the Brazilian indigenous communities, local governments, scientists, educators and general public who are working tirelessly to secure the Amazon for the future of all Brazilians."

DiCaprio is known for playing the leading role in movies such as "Titanic" and "The Revenant" for which he was awarded Best Actor in the 2016 Golden Globe Awards and 88th Academy Awards respectively. In 1998, the actor started the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and since then, it has been devoted to protecting last wild places the world as well as addressing climate change and other environmental issues such as the deforestation of the Amazon as well as the fires. Recently, the actor has joined forces with fellow environmental activist, 16-year old Greta Thunberg, to come up with more initiatives that would alleviate the effects of climate change.

The Amazon rainforest is often referred as the Earth's "lungs" as it stands as the planet's primary defense against climate change, but the raging fires as well as the deforestation which has reached its peak in more than 10 years, has decreased its ability to do so.

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