Shagmag
The famous Hollywood sign overlooking Tinseltown briefly read “Hollyboob” on Monday. And now we (can) know why.
Social Media Influencer Julia Rose says she changed the sign to protest what she sees as censorship of the hottest Instagram content. The police arrested Rose and five other people for trespassing, and rangers quickly restored the iconic sign to its normal status.
“This was nothing cool (not to mention that the terrain is quite steep and dangerous),” Captain Steve Lurie, LAPD’s Hollywood Area Commanding Officer, tweeted Monday.
A few hours ago, a group tried to vandalize the Hollywood sign. Los Angeles landmarks are precious to us @LAPDHollywood and that was not legal (not to mention that the terrain is quite steep and dangerous). Hollywood patrol officers arrested all six individuals.
– Captain Steve Lurie (@LAPDLurie) February 1, 2021
Rose is the founder and CEO of Shag Mag, a digital publication that features “exclusive and uncensored content from Julia Rose and other rising Instagram models” (yes, there are lots of boobs). In an interview with The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, Rose said she had the idea for Hollyboob last year after Instagram warned her about nudity in her personal and corporate accounts. The accounts had an estimated 6 million followers combined before they were deactivated, the Times reports.
Rose told the newspaper that she knew she was “pushing the limits of censorship” on the accounts by introducing other underdressed influencers, but she believed that Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, targeted influencers more aggressively than established brands like Playboy.
“We do not allow nudity on Instagram and we have removed these accounts for repeatedly violating these rules,” a company spokesman on Facebook said in a statement on Tuesday.
Rose and other influencer Jack Tenney, one of her pranksters, say the feat had unexpected benefits, such as raising awareness of breast cancer and bringing a smile to people’s faces.
“It’s incredible,” Rose told the LA Times. “All of this combined was very, very good.”
The Hollywood sign was built in 1923 as a giant illuminated advertisement for a luxury real estate development called Hollywoodland and quickly became a tourist attraction and a symbol of Hollywood glamor. He appeared in several films, including Argo, Sharknado and San Andreas, and in video games, including Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. The W in the sign, the highest letter in the current version, is 14 meters high and about 40 inches wide.
Accessing the landmark at the top of Mt. Lee needs to climb steep terrain, but attackers have managed to change it before. In 2017, an artist changed to “Hollyweed” and, in 1987, briefly became “Holywood” to coincide with a visit by the pope.
Rose made headlines during the World Series 2019, when she and some friends showed off their breasts to TV cameras from the seats behind the base plate. At the time, they also said they were raising awareness about breast cancer.
Rose and Tenney face court appearances for their Hollyboob hijinks later this year.