Leonardo DiCaprio isn’t planning to spill the details behind his viral Golden Globes moment anytime soon.
The One Battle After Another star, who landed his eighth Academy Awards nomination on Thursday (January 22), addressed the buzz in a new profile with Deadline, where he was asked about the now-infamous awards show clip.
In the footage, DiCaprio can be seen pointing at someone and mouthing “K-Pop,” which many believe was a reference to Netflix’s animated musical K-Pop Demon Hunters. As the moment continues, the actor becomes more animated — clapping, laughing, and eventually signing what looks like an awards program.
“It was directed to a friend, but at the end of the day, who knows if this other person that I was talking to wants me to even mention their name?” DiCaprio told Deadline. “So, as the lead character says in A Bronx Tale, I’m not a rat.”
DiCaprio’s One Battle After Another co-star Teyana Taylor — who took home this year’s Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture — added fuel to the speculation when she appeared on Access Hollywood after her win and suggested he was speaking to her in the viral clip. She later walked that claim back during an appearance on The Tonight Show.
“So when I first saw [the video], I didn’t watch the whole thing,” Taylor explained to host Jimmy Fallon. “So I was like, ‘Oh, you’re talking about K-Pop Demon Hunters, he’s talking about me.’ But then I actually watched it and they started doing the lip-read thing, and I had to call Leo.”
She added, “I was like, ‘You can’t be talking to me — were you talking to me? Because I already told people you were talking to me.’ So apparently he had two K-Pop Demon Hunters conversations that night. K-Pop Demon Hunters was just in his mouth all night.”
DiCaprio was nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture at the 2026 Golden Globes, but the award ultimately went to Timothée Chalamet.
