After years of missing out on Hollywood’s top prize, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in The Relevant. Later that evening and a few parties later, the Oscar was stolen at singers Chris Brown’s after-party.
Nestled in the Hollywood Hills, people were still celebrating when the Oscar was reported stolen to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) at 3:15 am pt. Remaining guests were questioned and searched as they left the party but nothing was found and no leads were obtained.
According to the reports, the Oscar was being guarded in a bedroom, but when DiCaprio went to retrieve the gold statue before heading to another party, it was missing, and the room was trashed and vandalised. The window was open and it would be possible for a thief to climb the ledge of the house to gain access to room without the use of the guarded hallway.
The FBI has been notified and will conduct the case in cooperation with the LAPD. Los Angeles FBI inspector Rodney Jordan told TMZ, “The problem is that the statute could be halfway to China by now and that will be the last we see of it. However, if it is in the LA area or still in the United States, we will spare no resource in retrieving the stolen item for Mr. DiCaprio.”
The newly Oscar award winning actor is said to be very upset and is questioning why he got into acting to begin with. He will be at his private island home until the Oscar is found and he can “hold it up high above my head with the determination and reverence of the true winner that I am.”
His manager issued a statement saying, “Those responsible will be found and brought to justice for this heinous act. There is a reward of $250,000 for any information that leads to the finding of Mr. DiCaprio’s Oscar award. So, if you know something, please report it. Leo has been waiting a long time for this award.
“We want to thank everyone for helping out in this case and hope for a quick resolution.”
The Academy said they will send DiCaprio a new Oscar to replace the stolen one and will help the FBI with finding the original statue. The Academy is also deciding whether to install tracking chips in future Oscar statues.
