Leonardo DiCaprio After Old Nelson Mandela Picture [Photo]

Now that Nelson Mandela is gone, his legacy lives on in words he shared and his wisdom. Except if you’re Leonardo DiCaprio, who’s in a search to get a hold of an old photo he took with Mandela.

The photo is from 2007 and it shows DiCaprio proudly standing next to Nelson Mandela. According to Page Six, the photo is up for sale, naturally, and that piece of news has DiCaprio’s attention.

However, it’s not just the photo that DiCaprio is after. A lot of it has to do with the personal note Nelson Mandela left to the Wolf of Wall Street star.

The photo with the two was photographed back in 2006 while DiCaprio was filming Blood Diamond. Somehow the actor was never able to claim the photo. Instead, it wound up as property in memorabilia and autograph business Moment in Time. Now the popular photo is on sale for $25,000.

The message Nelson Mandela wrote to Leonardo DiCaprio is simple but it’s obvious that it means a lot to the actor. The message reads on the photograph:

“To Leo DiCaprio, Best Wishes, Mandela, 4-8-07.”

Now that it’s being sold a legal battle has started between Moments in Time and Leonardo DiCaprio. A source who is close to the actor told Page Six:

“The photo is clearly not their property. He wants the picture. His lawyers are considering action.”

This comes only days after Leonardo DiCaprio has learned of the photo’s existence. According to Page Six lawyer Steve Warren has already sent a letter to the business, but the owner of Moments in Time, Gary Zimet, said that it still belongs to him, and the actor needs to buy it from him in order to acquire the now famous photo.

“They think by trying to intimidate me that they can get the picture for free. The provenance is ironclad. Leo is welcome to buy it.”

As we reported, Mandela passed away on December 5, 2013. When Nelson Mandela died, Leonardo DiCaprio, still touched by his presence, paid tribute to his dear friend via Twitter.

A hero, we honor. MT @NelsonMandela When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people&country,he can rest in peace #Madiba

— Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) December 6, 2013

Do you think Leonardo DiCaprio should pay for the autographed photo or should the memorabilia business hand the personal photo over to DiCaprio?

[Image via Bing and Vibe]