Mischa Barton claimed she was told to SLEEP with Leonardo DiCaprio to further her career aged 19 in resurfaced 2005 chat – as actor, 48, is hit by backlash over sighting with Eden Polani, 19 – TH

Mischa Barton claimed she was told to SLEEP with Leonardo DiCaprio to further her career aged 19 in resurfaced 2005 chat – as actor, 48, is hit by backlash over sighting with Eden Polani, 19

Mischa Barton claimed she was told to sleep with Leonardo DiCaprio when she was 19 and he was 30 in a 2005 interview – which resurfaced as the actor was slammed for being spotted out with Eden Polani, 19, this month.

The OC actress, now 37, spoke to Harpers & Queen at the height of her fame in the teen drama, and recounted an incident where she and then-publicist Craig Schneider saw Leonardo at a photoshoot in Malibu.

At the time, Oscar-winner Leonardo had just broken up with Gisele Bundchen after a six year on-off romance.

In the 2005 interview, Mischa said Craig told her: ‘For the sake of your career, go and sleep with that man.’

Mischa said she was not interested in older men, telling the publication: ‘Isn’t Leo, like, 30 or something?’

Unearthed: Mischa Barton claimed she was told to sleep with Leonardo DiCaprio when she was 19 and he was 30 in a 2005 interview – which resurfaced as the actor was slammed for being spotted out with Eden Polani, 19, this month (the pair are pictured in 2005)

This comes after the Titanic actor was hit by backlash over his sighting with French-Israeli model Eden.

On Tuesday, sources close to Leo hit back at claims that the pair were dating after they were seen next to each other at a party, though they did not comment on whether there had ever been any romantic connection between them.

They said: ‘They were seated next to each other at a music-listening party. There were a number of people at that event.’

It comes in the wake of ongoing controversy around Leonardo’s dating habits; the Titanic star famously only dates women who are under the age of 25, and even split from his last serious girlfriend, Camila Morrone, weeks after she hit the milestone.

News that the Oscar winner may have gotten involved with someone less than half his age caused outrage on social media after he was pictured with Eden at Detroit-born singer Ebony Riley’s release party for her new EP.

Seemingly missing from the event however was Leo’s current girlfriend Victoria Lamas, who at 23 is 25 years his junior and almost half his age.

While sources close to Leo have denied that there is any long-term romance between him and Eden, the model seems to be acutely aware of the new-found attention she is receiving.

On Tuesday morning, she shared an image taken from what appears to be a New York City hotel on her Instagram Stories, tagging the location as ‘New York’ and writing: ‘Long time no see.’

Spotted: The model had been pictured sitting alongside the Titanic star at a party (pictured) sparking a huge flurry of Twitter backlash due to their 29-year age gap

Back then: In the 2005 interview, Mischa said her publicist told her: ‘For the sake of your career, go and sleep with that man’

Not for her: Mischa said she was not interested in older men, telling the publication: ‘Isn’t Leo, like, 30 or something?’ (Leo is pictured in 2005)

Exes: At the time of the alleged incident, Leo had just broken up with Gisele Bundchen

However, just over an hour after the photo was posted – amid the furious outrage that erupted on social media over their so-called romance – Eden had mysteriously removed the photo.

Eden was born in Paris to a French mother and an Israeli father and has been signed to several agencies, including IT Models, which focuses on boutique fashion, and Kult Models in Germany, among others.

The young beauty was encouraged to get into modeling for several years, but never took it seriously until she was discovered by ITM Models, according to Glamour Bulgaria, where she was a cover model.

Despite the model’s ever-growing portfolio, DiCaprio’s fans were quick to spot her young age and Twitter has gone wild with the news that her high school education was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moreover, she was not even born when Titanic was released in 1997 – more than 25 years ago.

One person observed: ‘Kate Winslet was 22 when she was nominated for an Oscar for Titanic. Which is three years older than Leonardo DiCaprio’s current girlfriend.’

‘Somebody needs to stop him’: Twitter was awash with comments about Leonardo’s penchant for young models

‘Leonardo DiCaprio’s new girlfriend wasn’t even born when Titanic was released.’

‘DiCaprio’s girlfriend is so young she probably studied the Romeo and Juliet film he starred in when she was at school.’

‘Someone please explain to me what a man nearing 50 has in common with *checks notes* a 19 year old?’

‘Somebody needs to stop leonardo dicaprio. It was funny 10 girlfriends ago.’

‘Leonardo DiCaprio is only worried about climate change because he wants to leave a better world for his girlfriends.’

The star has always hit headlines with his relationships, famously dating model Gisele Bündchen for five years starting when she was 18, to a five-year romance with Bar Refaeli that ended when she turned 25.