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Contrary to what you have heard, Leo does not get raped—twice!—by a bear in his forthcoming desperate attempt for an Oscar film, The Revenant."DICAPRIO RAPED BY BEAR IN FOX MOVIE!" was the deliciously silly headline that graced the top of the Drudge Report this morning, and the brief post only made it so much better:
The explicit moment from Oscar winning director Alejandro Inarritu has caused maximum controversy in early screenings. Some in the audience escaped to the exits when the Wolf of Wall Street met the Grizzly of Yellowstone.
The story of rural survivalism and revenge reaches new violent levels for a mainstream film.
The bear flips Leo over and thrusts and thrusts during the explicit mauling.
"He is raped -- twice!"
Even though several critics had already seen The Revenant and quickly dispelled the rumor, Jeb Bush's communications director Tim Miller was left wondering anyways:
Are there any recorded examples of a bear raping a human in real life?
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) December 1, 2015
So where-oh-where did Matt Drudge come up with his latest half-truth? Drudge's post links to a review of the film at Showbiz 411 by Roger Friedman, who right in the headline calls the attack a "molestation." The scene in question opens the movie and is actually being praised by Friedman (who recalls the terror of the shark in Jaws), but the language he uses to describe the mauling is quite colorful: "The bear flips Glass over on his belly and molests him—dry humps him actually—as he nearly devours him."
This is the Twitter Age, so everyone had something to say about the Bear Non-Rape:
We laugh now, but we shouldn't: Matt Drudge's bear rape report could have serious implications for Leo's Oscar chances. Here's why and why i
— Vadim Rizov (@vrizov) December 1, 2015
I'm sick and tired of all these actors doing bear-rape scenes in an obvious attempt to win the Oscar. #oscarbait #bearbait
— Russell (@RussellHFilm) December 1, 2015
Here is the controversial scene from The Revenant pic.twitter.com/aPALhiJH38
— Sergio (@salobonavia) December 2, 2015
Here's the latest trailer for The Revenant, where you can catch a glimpse of the now-infamous bear non-rape attack:
The Revenant opens in limited-release on Christmas Day, with a wide-release on January 8, 2016.