Shagmag
The famous Hollywood sign with a view of Tinseltown briefly read ‘Hollyboob’ on Monday. And now we know (maybe) why.
Social media influencer Julia Rose says she changed the sign to protest what she considers censorship of racer content by Instagram. Police arrested Rose and five others for trespassing, and park rangers quickly restored the iconic sign to its usual status.
“It was very cool (not to mention the terrain is quite steep and dangerous),” said Captain Steve Lurie, commander of LAPD’s Hollywood neighborhood, tweeted on Monday.
A few hours ago, a group tried to vandalize the Hollywood sign. Los Angeles landmarks are precious to us @LAPDHollywood and it was very cool (not to mention the terrain is quite steep and dangerous). Hollywood patrol officers have arrested all six individuals.
– Captain Steve Lurie (@LAPDLurie) 1 February 2021
Rose is the founder and CEO of Shag Mag, a digital publication that “contains exclusive and uncensored content from Julia Rose and other emerging Instagram models” (yes, there are many boobs). In an interview with The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, Rose said she first came up with the Hollyboob idea last year after Instagram warned her about nudity in her personal and company accounts. The Times had about 6 million followers together before they were eliminated.
Rose told the newspaper she knows she’s pushing the boundaries of censorship by offering other scantily clad influencers, but believes Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, have targeted influencers more aggressively at established brands like Playboy.
“We do not allow nudity on Instagram, and we have removed these accounts because they have repeatedly violated the rules,” a Facebook company spokesman said in a statement Tuesday.
Rose, and co-influencer Jack Tenney, one of her joke partners, claims the stunt has unintended benefits, such as raising breast cancer awareness and bringing a smile to people’s faces.
“It’s great,” Rose told the LA Times. “It all came together really well.”
The Hollywood sign was built in 1923 as a giant-lit advertisement for a luxury real estate development called Hollywoodland and quickly became a tourist attraction and symbol of Hollywood glamor. It has appeared in numerous movies, including Argo, Sharknado and San Andreas, and in video games, including Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. The W on the board, the tallest letter in the current version, is 45 feet high and nearly 40 inches wide.
Access to the landmark on top of Mount Lee has to climb steep terrain, but offenders have managed to do so before. In 2017, an artist changed it to ‘Hollywood’, and in 1987 it briefly became ‘Holywood’ to coincide with a visit by the Pope.
Rose made headlines during the 2019 World Series, when she and a few friends flashed their breasts to TV cameras from seats behind the home plate. At the time, they also said they were raising breast cancer awareness.
Rose and Tenney later appear in court over their Hollyboob hijackings.