vegan

LEONARDO DiCaprio is facing business woes as the trendy vegan shoe brand he backed continues to haemorrhage millions.

The star’s favoured label has been left relying on cash injections from wealthy investors to keep it afloat.

British shoemaker LØCI, in which Leo is a key investor, makes 100% cruelty-free trainers using recycled bamboo, foam and rubber.

Each £160 pair reuses up to 20 plastic bottles recovered from the Mediterranean and the east coast of Africa.

The brand has proved popular with celebrities including Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis and Eva Longoria, while fellow investor Nicki Minaj has her own range.

But following Leo’s investment, the firm’s finances took a nosedive and it now has just £7,355 listed as “cash at bank and in hand”.

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Newly released accounts for Wild Loci Ltd also show accumulated losses of £2,904,888, while the company owes £931,130 to creditors.

The figures, filed this week, reveal the business is being propped up by investment totalling £5,170,947.

That leaves it with equity of £2,280,760 despite the significant losses.

The company also risks being struck off by Companies House after filing its accounts late for two consecutive years.

It has also been late submitting its annual “confirmation statement”, a legal requirement.

The government website warns: “Not filing your confirmation statements, annual returns or accounts is a criminal offence – and directors or LLP designated members could be personally fined in the criminal courts.”

Currently, the brand is offering dozens of shoes at half price, including the “Origins” trainer, which features a “natural cork and recycled foam insole”.

All of Nicki Minaj’s range is also heavily discounted, including the “Barbie Dangerous” and “Itty Bitty Piggy” sneakers.

At the time of Leonardo DiCaprio’s investment, founder Emmanuel Eribo said: “He’s an absolute star and sees the world the same way we see it. It’s been an absolute blessing having him on the team. You can’t ignore it’s a British brand and he’s betting on it.

“He didn’t need to do this, there’s definitely something in there that is tugging on him.

“If I could say things about Leo, I’d probably use two words: genuine and kind. You can care about the world and still want good things.”

At the time, Leo said he was “proud” to be an investor, adding: “I am proud to be an investor in LØCI, a brand dedicated to minimising its environmental impact, and centred around creating cruelty-free, ethical footwear.”

LØCI have been approached for comment.

I’M A Celebrity fans have been left horrified as vegan campmate Beverley Callard was forced to eat crocodile tail.

The Coronation Street icon, 69, was seen tucking to the meaty dish on Friday’s episode, leaving fans questioning if she was still a vegan.

Beverley, Gemma Collins, Seann Walsh and Adam Thomas took on the Petrifying Plunge challenge.

They were each placed inside one of four tanks which slowly started to fill with water.

They then had to dive down and retrieve ten numbered keys, before passing it along to the other tanks, with the last person responsible for unlocking the corresponding lock.

Despite some panic, the team managed to bring back six stars.

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Later that evening, the food was delivered to the camp and they celebs were delighted to find out they were having crocodile tail.

Craig Charles said in the hut: “I’m not sure what crocodile tail tastes like.

“People have said it tastes like chicken, but they say that about every meat.”

The camp chefs then dished up and the celebrities were seen polishing off off their containers.

Scarlett described the texture as a “mixture of fish and chicken”.

Beverley was also seen getting stuck into the crocodile tail and admitted it was one of the best meals so far.

She said in the hut: “It actually looked and tasted like pieces of lobster. It was truly fantastic.

“I want to go jump up trees and climb trees because it was ecstatic.”

Fans will remember that Beverley went vegan back in 2020 to avoid eating any grim animal body parts during the eating challenge.

So fans were left confused when Beverley was seen eating the crocodile tail.

One asked: “So Beverley is not vegan anymore?

“She ate croc tail last night and said it tasted like lobster! I’m sure she was vegan when she was in it before.”

A second posted: “I heard she lied just to avoid certain eating trials but it backfired and all the vegan stuff was even worse.”

A third commented: “I think she just said it last time to avoid kangaroo penis lmao. I feel like I remember last time she said she’d become vegan very recently.”

Another added: “You’ve got to give her props for trying to find a loophole. The vomit fruit last time have been so much worse.”

On Bev’s first stint on I’m A Celeb, she explained she had become vegan and would therefore not be participating in some of the eating trials.

Her co-stars Jordan North and telly presenter Vernon Kay all had to get their teeth stuck into some pretty awful things during the challenges.

The boys had to chomp down on a range of things including sheep’s brain, cow’s tongue, a deer’s testicle and even a sheep’s penis, whereas the Corrie star has the pleasure of eating some fermented plums, five cubes of fermented tofu and a vomit fruit dish.

At the time, Bev’s former co-star Simon Gregson was quizzed about Bev’s veganism on Loose Women, to which he replied: “Yeah! You see Rebecca her daughter is vegan.

“I’m sure Bev has done it for all the right reasons, health and to save the planet. If you believe that, I’m a mango!”

Presenter Linda Robson joked: “Are you sure so it’s just so she doesn’t have to eat anything disgusting?”

Simon, who has portrayed Bev’s on-screen son 21 years, added: “I’m pretty sure it’s because she doesn’t have to put a willy in her mouth, yeah.”