After being destroyed on several occasions, President Donald Trump‘s Hollywood Walk of Fame star multiplied overnight.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, when the sun rose Thursday morning along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Donald Trump’s single commemorative plaque that he earned in 2007 had multiplied by the dozens by an anonymous artist and a group of allies called “The Faction.” Printed on sheets of floor vinyl with adhesive backing, the artist claimed they were motivated by the current controversy surrounding the President’s star.
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“Rip up the president’s Walk of Fame star or try to have it removed — like you’re the mayor of West Hollywood or something — and 30 more will pop up,” the artist, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Hollywood Reporter.
“I didn’t want to get hit over the head from behind. We thought Trump Derangement Syndrome was a joke, but I’m pretty sure it’s real,” the artist said of the process of placing the stars. “If no one peels these off, they could last there for 10 years.”
So far, more than 50 of the fake stars, which are said to have been funded by “a young and anonymous entrepreneur,” have been peeled off and removed. One Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Employee who began to remove the stars feared that they would prompt “what happened to the old star here. Not only would the star be destroyed, but it would damage our property.”
Trump’s star has been the subject of vandalism multiple times in recent years. In 2016, James Lambert Otis, dressed as a construction worker, used a pickaxe and sledgehammer to destroy the star. In July of that year, a 6-inch high concrete wall with razor wire mimicking the President’s proposed border wall was constructed around the star. In 2017, someone used permanent marker to write “F– Trump” across the star, and most recently, the star was reduced to a pile of rubble by a man wielding a pickaxe which was concealed in a guitar case.
As a result of the constant vandalization and protests centered at the star, which some retailers along the Hollywood Walk of Fame have claimed hurts business, the West Hollywood City council unanimously voted to have the star removed. However, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Police Department have reportedly decided to keep President Trump’s star exactly where it is, though they acknowledged that it will likely remain a target for vandals, provocateurs, and activists.
