John Lennon's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Defaced By Vandals
Credit: The Hollywood Reporter
Well, idiocy is apparently a growth industry.
At some point prior to October 5, vandals defaced John Lennon's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to Capitol Records on Vine Street.
The discover was made by Gillian Lomax, who leads the "A Magical History Tour" group. The vandals had covered the landmark with graffiti and scribbles, including such phrases as "Blackbird... Rain was here" and "It cost alot [sic] 2 win + even more 2 lose." You know, sidewalk wisdom.
"Morons did it," Lomax told The Hollywood Reporter, in one of the truest observations anyone in a public forum is likely to make this week. "Rather tacky. There was a group of them, judging from the different colored pens. I tried to rub it out, but to no avail."
Lomax quickly alerted alerted Steve Marinucci of Examiner.com, who then alerted Ana Martinez of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. By the morning of Oct. 7, workers were on their hands and knees, erasing all signs of graffiti.
"We don't mess around," said Martinez. "I think Capitol is looking into seeing if there's any video [of the crime.] They're registered state landmarks. Those are my babies! We've had people destroy stars, cracking or prying out parts of the stars, and they do go to jail and they have to pay back for the repairs. We just had one recently damaged -- Arsenio Hall's, and a couple near him."
Not that tourism hasn't always involved a certain amount of questionable behavior, but this is pretty damn ridiculous, and not just because The Beatles are some kind of sacred cow. It's simply a matter of principle. Seriously, who does this kind of thing?