Pranksters Change Hollywood Sign to ‘Hollyweed’ — and Montel Williams Isn’t Happy About It
Los Angeles police are looking for the suspect who altered the iconic Hollywood sign to read “Hollyweed” on New Year’s Eve, according to multiple reports.
On social media user uploaded a photo of the altered sign to Twitter, writing, “Hollyweed!!! I think security took the night off last night in Hollywood.”
Sgt. Robert Payan with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Security Services told Variety that officers stationed above the sign over night did not see the vandals.
He noted that although there is security footage of the incident, no suspects have been identified.
A spokesperson for the department’s Hollywood division told KABC that a vandalism unit was called in to investigate.
Hollyweed!!! I think security took the night off last night in Hollywood
— Sd3gaughC (@Sd3gaughC) January 1, 2017
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Television personality Montel Williams found the incident to be no laughing matter.
As a prominent cannabis activist, I find nothing funny about this Hollyweed vandalism and hope those who did it are promptly arrested. https://t.co/2DSZwqtniE
— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) January 1, 2017
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He condemned the vandals in a Twitter post on Sunday, describing himself as a “prominent cannabis activist.”
“I find nothing funny about this Hollyweed vandalism and hope those who did it are promptly arrested,” Williams wrote.
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The prank comes just months after recreational use of marijuana was legalized on the state’s November ballot. But this isn’t the first time vandals have altered the sign in such a way.
On New Year’s Day in 1976, — the day marijuana was decriminalized in California — Danny Finegood changed the landmark to celebrate cannabis, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The LAPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.
