AT slumber parties, day camps and swimming pools around New York, word is spreading fast: Leo mania is, like, so five minutes ago.Just ask Amalie Silverstein, a 12-year-old from Manhattan: "His face is, like, everywhere and it's getting really, really irritating," she told Post Plus about actor-turned-phenomenon Leonardo DiCaprio.
"I kind of get the feeling that he's sort of a jerk. I think "Titanic' just kind of ruined him," Sarah Geller, 12, of Brooklyn Heights said about the hottest young actor in America.
Julia Frydman, 11, of SoHo, summed up the mood: "It's kind of, like, not cool to like him right now."
Can this be true? YES!
Has the raging obsession with King Leo - on a white-hot streak since the superhit "Titanic" - cooled so much that throngs of teenyboppers are now leading a backlash?
Maybe. Leo maniacs were equally scarce last week across town, in Times Square, when another pre-teen mob let out a collective groan at the mention of his moniker. "He's whack!" insisted 13-year-old Carolina Garcia of The Bronx when Post Plus dropped his name. "He needs to come out with a new movie."
Agreed Vanessa Paulino, 14: "He sucks! We used to like him, but now we like the Backstreet Boys."
Poor Leo. But such is the fickle nature of a young girl's affections.
Mere months ago, the 23-year-old's meteoric rise made him the pinnacle of pop culture. The adoration gave him astonishing box-office clout; insiders estimated a $25-million paycheck for his next project.
And DiCaprio, who has been reluctant to announce his next movie, might want to strike while he's still the reigning It Boy, in case Hollywood puts any stock in what the teen-age consumers have to say.
Early indications that King Leo's none-too-loyal fans might fast dethrone him caused members of Leo's camp to rush to his defense.
"It's not like he's done anything to create a backlash. It's all the publicity that is generated around him, and the little rumors that are just not true,"
said DiCaprio's press representative, Cindy Guagenti."He's the nicest guy in the world," insisted Guagenti, "and it's unfortunate that all his fans aren't able to know the real Leo."
But any hint of the real Leo doesn't stand a chance against all the frenzy that has engulfed him. Consider:
Leo-bashing has emerged as the latest cyber sport, as a number of exceedingly unfriendly websites have popped up on the Internet.
With names such as "The Official Anti-Leonardo DiCaprio Web-Ring" and "Leonardo DiCaprio Fully Bites," Leo haters have put up vitriolic sites full of rants, mock interviews, rumors and photo galleries.
Reads one typical diatribe: "He seems like a snotty, snobby, self-involved, conceited, stuck-up jerk."
Ouch!
The ever-vigilant New York press corps - including our own Page Six - keeps fans apprised of Leo's tomcattin' about town.
And reports of nights spent canoodling with models at Moomba or carousing with his rowdy posse seem to have tarnished Leo's wholesome image, according to those with a finger on the pulse of all things adolescent.
"The discerning Leo watcher may be starting to think he's not really idol material after all," said Robert Rorke, senior features editor at Seventeen magazine. Go on girls, listen to your precious seventeen mag.
"He's got this bad-boy lifestyle that doesn't play very well."
Still, not all of his fans have deserted Leo.
"I think he's so-o-o-o cute," squealed 12-year-old Brooklynite Stephanie Kourtess.
"He's not talked about that much anymore, but I still thought he was really good in "Titanic.'"
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