
Leonardo DiCaprio, 50, shows off recent weight loss with bikini-clad Vittoria Ceretti, 27, aboard yacht in Saint Tropez
The Titanic star, 50, was spotted shirtless aboard a yacht while savoring a lavish day at sea in Saint Tropez, France, with the bikini-clad model, 27.
The actor displayed a leaner frame, a notable change from the fuller figure he had developed since his Titanic stardom.
After taking a refreshing dip in the water, DiCaprio — who has reportedly been working to get fit in order to keep up with Vittoria — was seen dripping wet on board the yacht, dressed in a pair of dark swim shorts, before drying off with a towel.
Meanwhile Vittoria sent temperatures soaring as she showed off her enviable figure in a light pink thong bikini.
At one point, the Italian beauty was pictured watching her other half as he swam, before he re-boarded the yacht.
The actor displayed a leaner frame, a notable change from the fuller figure he had developed since his Titanic stardom
Vittoria covered her dark tresses with a white hat, and later put on a pair of white shorts to keep warm.
They were also joined by a group of close friends including Italian businessman Tommaso Buti.
Earlier this week Leonardo and Vittoria were seen on a date night together as they stepped out in St Tropez.
Vittoria cut a chic figure in a strappy white lace dress as she looked over her shoulder to smile at Leo.
Leo's annual trip to France came just a few days after he was in south London attending Wimbledon.
Vittoria and Leo are said to have met at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where his Martin Scorsese movie Killers Of The Flower Moon was premiering.
They were first linked in the August of that year, after a flurry of rumors that had connected Leo to Vittoria's fellow supermodel Gigi Hadid.
Over the course of their time together, Vittoria has been seen on occasion with a ring on her wedding finger, but sources have insisted she and Leo are not engaged.
Vittoria was previously married from 2020 until 2023 to the Italian DJ Matteo Milleri, who is part of the Berlin-based duo Tale of Us.
Vittoria sent temperatures soaring as she showed off her enviable figure in a light pink thong bikini
The actor dried off with a grey towel
The once interminable bachelor is said to be serious about Ceretti after years of being teased for his apparent penchant for dumping girlfriends once they turned 25
Vittoria was pictured adjusting her bikini
The couple recently attended Jeff Bezos' lavish wedding to Lauren Sanchez
Leo's annual trip to France came just a few days after he was in south London attending Wimbledon
The model has accompanied him on a number of tropical vacations, with pictures variously showing the couple frolicking on a yacht off the coast of Sardinia, playing pickleball in the sands of the Caribbean or splashing about in the waters of St. Barts
The couple were pictured looking at something in the water before sharing a laugh with their friends
In March Vittoria made rare comments about her age-gap romance with Leo in an interview with Vogue France
It comes after earlier this month Vittoria sparked backlash after she reposted a TikTok supporting Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's lavish Venice wedding.
Vittoria accompanied the Oscar winner to the star-studded nuptials - but has since been slammed by fans over on Reddit.
A TikTok user shared a reel with the caption in the first slide reading, 'Everyone hating on Jeff Bezos' wedding.'
The next image showed a small air conditioner alongside the text, 'But I ordered this AC at 10pm last night and it arrived by 9am. Enjoy your wedding king.'
The TikToker additionally penned, 'why are we hating?? he gave me cold air and a reason to live. enjoy your wedding Jeff,' as the track No Broke Boys by Tinashe and Disco Lines played in the background.
Ceretti - who also joined celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Tom Brady during the three-day festivities - shared the clip to the top of her reposts and 137k followers.
Some social media users took notice of the video, and shared their thoughts over on a Reddit page.
One penned, 'This is such a "let them eat cake." moment,' while another simply added, 'yikesss.'
DiCaprio and his girlfriend whisked themselves away to Venice to join other A-list guests for Jeff and Lauren's wedding, though the actor kept a lowkey profile over the course of the three days.
Following his attendance at the Amazon founder's wedding, he faced backlash and was branded a 'hypocrite' by some fans for previously preaching about saving the planet.
Vittoria was previously married from 2020 until 2023 to the Italian DJ Matteo Milleri, who is part of the Berlin-based duo Tale of Us
The actor later put on a white t-shirt
Meanwhile, during the celebrations, Vittoria donned a vintage Dolce & Gabbana gown that had previously been worn by his ex Gisele Bundchen in 2003.
In between the wedding and other glitzy parties, Vittoria was seen exploring the romantic city of Venice and also spent time with newly single Orlando Bloom.
The model was first linked to the Titanic actor in 2023 and made rare comments about their relationship during an interview with Vogue France in April.
In regards to dating some as famous as DiCaprio, the beauty expressed that is 'something you learn.'
She added, 'If what you're experiencing is real, if you know you love each other, then there's no reason to be alarmed. Because love protects and gives confidence.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Jennifer Lopez lets loose in sexy backless dress as she celebrates her 56th birthday on tour
Jennifer Lopez sizzled in a sexy backless dress as she enjoyed a birthday celebration in Turkey while on tour. The On The Floor hitmaker, who will turn 56 on July 24, was pictured letting loose as she danced next to a three-tier birthday cake in a video shared to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday. The singer — who recently scandalized the crowd with an X-rated sex confession — stunned in a skintight, sparkling silver gown that highlighted her enviable physique. The superstar danced to her new track, titled 'Birthday', which she released to mark her special day. At one point she sensuously dropped to the dance floor, then bounced rhythmically before rising to make her way around the cake. She continued to perform provocative dance moves as she mouthed along to the song's lyrics. The hitmaker, who was born on July 24, was pictured letting loose as she danced next to a three-tier birthday cake in a video shared to her Instagram Stories 'Name on top of the cake, it's my birthday/ I'ma make this famous a** shake, it's my birthday/ Throwin' all this money in they face, it's my birthday/ Everyday is my birthday, b***h,' Lopez sang. Her lavish pink and white cake featured her name as well as four candles. Lopez — whose divorce from Ben Affleck, 52, was finalized in January — was surrounded by cocktail waitresses in white bodysuits as well as other members of her entourage. A few hours prior she also shared a sizzling montage of her dancing on stage to her new track. At one moment she was pictured shaking her famous derrière in a sparkling silver bodysuit. It comes after Lopez shocked audience members at her latest concert with a very X-rated confession. The actress and singer — who has lately been putting on increasingly risqué performances — admitted at her show on Monday at the Lucca Summer Festival in Italy that she has shifting desires when she's getting naughty in the bedroom. 'I have to be honest with you, sometimes I get in different moods at night. I don't know about you, but I do — and sometimes I like it hard,' she said, according to The US Sun. But on the same day that she opened up about her most intimate details on stage, the Hustlers star was blasted on social media by the conservative political commentator Megyn Kelly, who accused her of devolving into an adult film star thanks to a series of raunchy concerts in recent weeks. During the hitmaker's show on Monday, she confessed that she isn't always in the mood to have it 'hard.' 'Other days, I am feeling a little romantic,' she said. 'You put on candles and soft music. On those days, I like it real slow.' She continued: 'But there's other days . . . maybe because it's a new kind of time for me, maybe because it's summertime and it's hot outside, I feel a little more naughty.' Then Lopez reportedly chuckled as the crowd hooted and hollered at her racy statements. 'You ever get that feeling?' she added with a smile. 'Where you feel like being naughty? On those days, I like it real fast.' The tour stop reportedly featured Jennifer's new song Up All Night, which she named her tour after. The song's lyrics suggest the narrator is taunting a former lover by reminding them of what they are missing out on. 'I'm up all night, dancing on somebody, living my best life / I bet you wish that you were by my side / I got tired of you breaking me down / Look at me now,' she sings. A source told the publication that now has enough songs written that could fill an entire album. Megyn Kelly accused her of devolving into an adult film star thanks to a series of raunchy concerts in recent weeks 'The material is inspired by what she went through during her relationship with Ben,' they claimed. 'Wreckage Of You was so specifically about Ben, and Up All Night points to where Jennifer is at in her life right now. This is a whole new era for Jennifer and she isn't going to be holding back.' But at least one person watching from afar wasn't interested in Lopez's new era. In a post to X (formerly Twitter), Kelly shared a video of the songstress running through multiple mock sex positions with her shirtless male backup dancers as the political commentator expressed her disgust. 'So she's a soft porn star now,' Kelly captioned the clip, before mocking Lopez for making 'Great choices!' Several replies to the post agreed with the former Fox News host, with multiple people describing the video of Lopez as 'ridiculous,' 'disgusting' and 'embarrassing.' 'This is nasty. I couldn't watch,' wrote one particularly sensitive poster in reply. But some of the replies accused Kelly of being unnecessarily harsh on Lopez. 'Jealous much?' one user wrote, while another person mused, 'Is there anything that does not offend MAGA?' The singer kicked off her Up All Night tour in Pontevedra, Spain on July 8. The shows will be performed across Europe before heading to the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Armenia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The Jenny From The Block star will then return to the US later in the year to launch her Up All Night residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on December 30. The Las Vegas residency is due to run through until March 2026. The Unstoppable actress was married to Ojani Noa, Cris Judd and Marc Anthony before tying the knot with Affleck in 2022, but they split in 2024 after less than two years of marriage. The former couple's divorce was finalized in January. Jennifer has since returned to the road after she cancelled her previous tour to focus on family matters.


Times
an hour ago
- Times
How to holiday with billionaires: no selfies or splitting the bill
Now that holiday season is here, the barefoot billionaires are flocking off on their yachts or to their villas and favourite six-star hotels. If you get invited to join them, lucky you. For the uninitiated, I will share a few unspoken rules. But first, if you get the invite, where might you be heading this year? The hot ticket for summer 2025 is an old favourite: the French Riviera. After a few years of being dismissed for being too clichéd/nouveau/Instagrammable/packed with flashy oligarchs (now banned), the Riviera is enjoying a wholesale renaissance, with private plane-loads of American billionaires (see the Peltz family with Brooklyn Beckham) chasing a bit of old-school European glamour at a very favourable exchange rate. Alarmed at being elbowed out of their traditional stamping grounds, the toffs are also striking back. They'll be holing up once again in their manicured estates around Nice and in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat — where Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has a home, and Sir Elton John is nearby on Mont Boron — and air-kissing in the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes. Down the coast they'll be settling into pastel-coloured villas around the village of Ramatuelle near St Tropez, or checking into spa hotel La Réserve Ramatuelle and snagging front-row loungers at local beach club Loulou Ramatuelle. Before any arrivals, the local staff — the ones who have a relationship with the fishermen, vegetable sellers and restaurant maître d's — will have the larders stocked and storm shutters thrown open onto olive-filled gardens with uninterrupted views of Pampelonne beach. The large yachts anchor here because they're too big for the busy marina in St Tropez. You'd never actually stay in St Tropez these days, but an afternoon ashore is still well worth it — a visit to the bijou Hermès store followed by lunch on the terrace at the three Michelin-starred La Vague d'Or, where reservations are now closed for the summer. Then everyone converges on the beach at Le Club 55, spiritual home of the barefoot billionaire. Not heading to the Côte d'Azur? I have friends who swear by Hvar in Croatia, calling it the St Tropez of the Balkans. The Laganini restaurant and bar in Palmizana on Sveti Klement, a private islet close to Hvar, has been billed 'the new Club 55'. I prefer the old one, but then Hvar is popular with the yacht crowd because it is one of the cheapest ports in the Med to refuel. They love Montenegro for the same reason. Or there's La Residencia in Deia, on Mallorca, or the Cyclades, but it won't be Mykonos this year — too much like Annabel's on a Thursday night. A yacht itinerary is more likely to include the lower-key islands of Paros, Antiparos, Naxos and foodie haven Sifnos. Bodrum and the southern coast of Turkey, once popular, are deemed simply too oligarch-y these days, as it's one of the few places sanctioned Russians can still go. For different reasons there is less interest in heading across the Atlantic this year to playgrounds such as the Hamptons. It's all Europe-looking in 2025. But not everywhere. Como is off the list thanks to the line of tourist buses that now snake around the lakes. The hills around here, in my view, used to have some of the best under-the-radar local restaurants in Italy. Now catering for hoards of picky tourists, they serve gluten-free pasta instead of their grandmother's recipe for ragu. Il Gatto Nero was everyone's secret Como tip until it was George Clooney's. • The White Lotus is nothing: this is how the super‑rich really travel Former fans of Como, like me, are heading to Copenhagen. From here you can easily access the fjords, whether by superyacht or helicopter, but it's the city's claim as the coolest and chicest in Europe that appeals. Noma, with its three Michelin stars, is a cliché and its moment has passed. Geranium is where everyone goes now — everyone who can spend upwards of £500 per head on a meal, that is. Securing a table at this 12-table, 3 Michelin-starred restaurant is not the ultimate status symbol. The real flex is a pre-service tour of the open-plan kitchen and co-ordinating calendars with chef Rasmus Kofoed, who runs private cooking lessons at his finca in Spain. The Hotel d'Angleterre is Copenhagen's answer to the Ritz in Paris. Here you can ask the concierge to send a member of staff to queue at Juno the Bakery for fresh cardamom buns brought back still warm in time for your morning coffee. And the hotel's Balthazar Champagne Bar serves vintage Dom Pérignon by the glass. Friends who like to holiday in Italy are this year heading to the Amalfi coast or Pantelleria, a windswept volcanic rock off the coast of Sicily where Giorgio Armani is patron saint. His white-domed dammuso with thick stone walls is the most distinctive on the island. There are no beaches here, which means no influencers, but you can still jump into its crystal turquoise waters from the rocks if you are at a private estate, or dive in from the deck of a yacht. But before you slip on the linen suit and board someone else's boat or enter their blissfully appointed island getaway, here are a few pointers to remember. Wherever you are invited, it is never acceptable to show up with a mountain of luggage, so take Joan Collins and her stack of monogrammed Louis Vuitton trunks off your moodboard. On yachts, hard-sided suitcases (impossible to stow) and wheeled luggage (liable to scuff interiors) are frowned upon. If you know, you know: seasoned travellers arrive with soft, worn leather holdalls. I am not a natural seafarer, but cruising the Amalfi coast during high season aboard a very large and well kitted-out boat is, I must admit, a transcendent experience. Typically, my host invites a few close friends — the inner circle — to spend a few weeks on board. Then a tender is dispatched to collect additional guests from ports en route. The stragglers may not have made the first cut but are deemed fun enough for a night or two. I am one such guest. And I'm always grateful for the privilege. My favourite itinerary is anchoring off Portofino or further south in Positano, to allow time for exploring the mainland as well as islands such as Capri (where you can make like Jackie Onassis and head to the shopping street Via Camerelle for your Van Cleef & Arpels or La Perla fix). An idyllic day in Positano involves plates of lobster linguine with lemon cream at Terrazza Celè followed by shopping at Emporio Sirenuse, the 'hotel shop' in Le Sirenuse, where Italian aesthete Carla Sersale sells ceramics, linen, raffia and perfume by local artisans, all with a stylish billionaire-friendly upgrade. Then I like to watch the sun set over aperitivos on the terrace before hopping back on board. If cabin fever strikes and you feel you must spend a night on terra firma, I would skip anything as close to the shore as Positano and brave the corkscrew drive further up the coast to Ravello and the Palazzo Avino. Ask for breakfast to be served on your private vine-covered veranda. When it comes to packing, you won't need industrial-sized suncream — on a yacht there will be copious amounts of it in all the outdoor spaces as well as in the staterooms. On my summer trips I just take a few pieces in breathable linen; an oversized silk scarf from Hermès; a large straw hat; swimwear and as many pairs of sunglasses as I can find. On a yacht, highly polished floors are a point of pride for boat crews, so guests will be barefoot on board. One pair of shoes — suede loafers by Tod's or Aurélien — should be enough for day trips. As a rule, all Mediterranean dinners — be they on a boat or in a friend's villa or a Michelin-starred restaurant — will combine fancy food with a relaxed dress code, which can be tricky to interpret. Flip-flops or slippers are fine at dinner, but show up in shorts and you will probably get struck off the guest list. A long silk slip or chinos and a shirt are perfect; no accessories needed. It's standard practice for a property manager or personal assistant to call ahead and check on guest preferences. It is also standard — or should be — for the guest to thank them politely and leave it at that. Refrain from reading out the results of your latest bloodwork confirming your microbiome prefers basmati to black rice. If you require ceremonial-grade matcha for your morning brew, bring your own. I'm exhausted by everyone's ever shifting dietary choices (oat milk was the best until it was the worst; coconut oil will give you a glow-up or clog your arteries). When I host at my weekend home in Burford, I skip the pre-arrival interrogation and quietly stock a few non-dairy and vegan options. If they're not up to scratch, I won't lose sleep over it. Since I gave up eating meat, I have sat through many meals pretending to eat rather than embarrassing my hosts. A friend who is about to host a group of writers at her home in Vilamoura in the Algarve sent me a screenshot of the pre-arrival requests made by a well-known lifestyle columnist: raw yoghurt and activated nuts at breakfast, scent-free sheets at night. Her caption to me read, 'Are we hosting Gwyneth?' The pressure of picking a present for the host with the most (and then some) is enough to put you off a holiday, free though it might be. Be reassured, your host is not looking to be compensated for meals and board. I always try to go for a clever gift — say, a monogrammed bookmark or a first edition of Liar's Poker. Years ago I made the rookie mistake of buying the most expensive wine I could afford as a gift on a weekend at a friend's India Mahdavi-designed chalet in Megève. My host made a point of graciously showing the large bottle of Bordeaux to the rest of the party, saying he would save it for when it had been properly decanted. It was only later, when I noticed his vast wine cave in the basement, that I discovered he was an enthusiast with hundreds of exquisite bottles. When, in spite of my rather lame gift, we were invited back, I baked a cake and was chuffed that it was quickly sliced up and served. While we are on the subject of holidaying in the Alps, most of the one percenters I know still wouldn't bother in the summer, even if they have the best chalet in the village, because their favourite restaurants and boutiques won't be open until ski season. You'll find those heading to the mountains at Eriro in Ehrwald, Austria. Its nine suites are booked lock, stock and barrel for months ahead by families looking to coax their digitally exhausted teenagers and own workaholic tendencies into a detox (no wi-fi is the default; the password is locked away unless otherwise agreed upon). And you pay £1,500 per night for the privilege. Or, for those who like cooler climes, there's Eleven Deplar Farm in Iceland, perched on the wild rugged slopes of the country's remote Troll Peninsula. Best known for its heliskiing, it's the spot for salmon fishing in summer. For £40,000 per night you can buy out the 13-room Scandi-chic lodge and house for up to 26 guests — a steal when you consider the cheapest room is £5,000 per night. A few summers ago, en route to a wedding in Saint-Paul de Vence, one of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, I made an overnight stop at a friend's clifftop villa overlooking the Mediterranean. The host — scion of a venerable banking dynasty — expressed his views on discretion in a characteristically elegant manner. Alongside the jaw-dropping views and threadbare Aubusson rugs, each guest room had a handwritten note encouraging us 'to make memories, not content' and refrain from taking pictures indoors. A gentle reminder that this was, above all, a family home. Even when there's no danger of pictures being flogged to the tabloids, it's impossible to relax around someone armed with a smartphone and not afraid to use it. Resist the temptation to take a selfie with every meal served and do not facetime your cousins in Cornwall from the skylounge of someone else's yacht, panning slowly so they can 'feel like they're here'. They're not. And the next time you may not be either. Picture this: a hard-won table on the sun-dappled terrace of La Colombe d'Or in Saint-Paul de Vence laden with platters of grilled fish and jeroboams of rosé. As the meal winds down, one guest — eyes darting towards the bill — loudly insists on paying their share. Or £47.50 of it, since they 'weren't really drinking'. Don't be that person. No one in the top tax bracket is looking to be reimbursed for what they spend on a good time with friends. What they are looking for — what they will remember — is appreciation. One can express that in so many ways that don't involve using Splitwise. One of the most gracious gestures came from a cousin's boyfriend, a photographer who was relatively unknown at the time but whose work now regularly features in Vogue, who joined us for a six-star holiday in Rajasthan: think palace hotels and a private chef. He didn't pay for any of it, nor was he expected to. A few weeks later, we each received envelopes of beautiful black-and-white prints of ourselves. No one remembered whether he'd contributed to the rosé fund when he made us feel like we were in a Wes Anderson film. Whether in a castello in Tuscany or on a yacht off Montenegro, it takes meticulous planning to move a posse of guests from one highly sought hotspot to the next in peak season. Don't derail it with a casual suggestion to swing by the gelato place that keeps popping up on your Instagram feed. If you'd like to contribute a meal or outing to the schedule, clear it with your host well in advance. Make a reservation yourself and — this is crucial — pick up the tab at the end without calling attention to it. If it was your suggestion, you pay. Just make sure you can afford it: the chicest summer scene in Europe often unfolds at deceptively simple-looking beach-shack restaurants, so you may require nerves of steel — or, at the very least, a platinum credit card. I learnt this the hard way on a Balearic cruise aboard a friend's yacht when I organised lunch for the group at Juan y Andrea, a restaurant on the beach of Formentera. I was introduced to it by a cousin who was a very generous host on a previous trip. Guests can show up in swimwear; the lobster, calamari and catch of the day are spectacular — and priced per 100g. Lunch for 20 quickly outstripped my monthly mortgage, before anyone ordered champagne. Which is a neat segue into my final piece of advice. Even in the most gilded surroundings, try not to lose sight of what your friends value about you. Is it your sense of humour? Your ability to defuse tense situations? Your concern for the child who is unhappy at boarding school? Show up as funny, kind and curious and try not to fret about whether or not you can afford to return the hospitality you have been shown. Better still, show your gushing appreciation of this summer's most popular holiday flex — the historian or archaeologist, brought along with the chef and PT to give extra panache to the museum and ruins visits.


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Fiddle-laden fake trailer reignites debate about Hollywood's Irish stereotypes
A man in a bar with a flat cap, bloodied knuckles and a dreamy look lays down his whiskey and writes a letter. 'Dear Erin,' he begins, and a soundtrack of fiddles swells as he yearns for his lost love in the distant land of America. The trailer for the upcoming film – tagline: 'she was the Irish goodbye he never forgot' – ran in recent weeks in cinemas and online and was accompanied by a poster showing green mountains, shamrocks and a rainbow. For many, it was Hollywood's latest affront to Ireland. 'What did we Irish people ever do to you to deserve this?' said one social media post. 'Christ could they not find a leprechaun to complete cliche bingo,' said another. Some sought solace in sarcasm: 'I think they nailed it. I'm always in the pub in the 1910s writing love letters to American girls with my big dirty fingernails. Finally I feel seen.' Last week came the twist: Epic, the Irish emigration museum in Dublin, revealed it had made the trailer and that the film, titled Dear Erin, did not exist. The trailer was a stunt to lampoon the stereotyping of Ireland in Hollywood romcoms such as Wild Mountain Thyme, Irish Wish, Leap Year and PS I Love You. 'It was time to call it out,' the museum said in a statement. 'We created a trailer for a film that we hope never gets made, and filled it with all of the tired, cliched portrayals of Irish people often seen in Hollywood movies.' Colonial-era stereotypes of the Irish as fist-fighting drunks or hopeless romantics persisted in contemporary films, warping perceptions of a complex, multilayered society, Aileesh Carew, the museum's director and chief executive, said in an interview. 'If you don't know anyone from Ireland then these films may be your only reference point.' The trailer features the actor Peter Coonan sporting shamrocks on his lapel and surrounded by empty beer glasses as his voiceover reminisces about meeting Erin: 'I have played that night over in my head more times than the Finnegans fought the O'Malleys.' The goal was to mimic a studio publicity campaign while cramming in every conceivable cliche, said Carew, adding: 'Potatoes, we forgot the potatoes.' Hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok and LadBible, along with the response on Instagram, Reddit and other platforms, showed the campaign had hit a chord, said Carew. Before the reveal, some commenters guessed that the trailer was a spoof, while others begged that it be so. 'Must be a joke here somewhere,' said one. 'Sweet Jesus no please. This should be called Dear God No! not Dear Erin.' The Hollywood stereotypes dated from the 1930s when gangster films featured Irish characters who were menacing thugs or comic relief drunks, but invariably seedy, said Dr Sian Barber, a film studies lecturer at Queen's University Belfast. 'Irishness was something foreign but also comforting. It was not done with any malice but it quickly became embedded in Hollywood consciousness.' Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Irish people, and tourism authorities, at times colluded in this romanticisation, said Barber. 'It offers this beautiful image of unreality which is welcoming and friendly. It's playing to this tourist idea of what Ireland can offer – the landscape, the loveable rogue.' John Ford's 1952 film The Quiet Man set a template of sorts by sending John Wayne's character back to his homeland to find a wife, whom he ends up dragging through fields, but its rural setting reflected much of Irish life at that time, unlike more recent fare that suggests society still revolves around sheep, donkeys and Guinness. Irish critics howled – in mirth and agony – at the whimsy and dodgy accents in the likes of Wild Mountain Thyme, a 2020 romcom starring Jamie Dornan and Emily Blunt, and Irish Wish, a 2024 vehicle for Lindsay Lohan. The main problem was not inaccuracy but lack of context, said Paudie Holly, a storyteller at Dublin's National Leprechaun Museum. Folklore can and should be celebrated, and there was no reason to feel shame about Ireland's rural past, but modern Ireland was different, he said. 'It's ridiculous to suggest our culture has been frozen in place for a hundred years.' Lance Daly, the Dublin-based director of Black 47, said Ireland had aggravated the phenomenon by luring foreign productions for the jobs they would bring rather than the stories they would tell. 'What you have then is a director who is not Irish directing actors who are not Irish … We have a weird tolerance for it. We have to be careful that we're not sponsoring foreign film-makers to make fools of us.'