What’s a girl to do for fun after the Grammys and all of the post-Grammy parties are over? Well, if you’re Ke$ha, you round up a limo, a group of friends, some sheets and some spray paint and you go deface the Hollywood sign (maybe. We’ll get to that in a second). Even though the sign is a bit challenging (and illegal) to get to, it hasn’t stopped various groups of people from altering it for publicity stunts or political purposes. Check out Ke$ha’s maybe-defacement and nine others:
1. Ke$hawood. Although there’s video of Ke$ha and her friends doing their thing, most blogs are now reporting that it’s an edited video and there’s no way that they managed this stunt. Even the Hollywood Sign Trust says it didn’t happen, as far as they can tell. You can read about all of the reasons it’s a fake video over at Entertainment Weekly, but you can look and see for yourself:
2. Holywood. When Pope John Paul II visited L.A. in 1987, taking over Dodger Stadium to celebrate mass, someone covered up one of the ‘L’s, declaring that Hollywood had gone holy… if only for the weekend.
3. Ollywood. Earlier that year, a similar simple modification was made when the ‘H’ was hidden. The reason? Oliver North and the Iran-Contra hearings.
4. Jolly Good. When Virgin Atlantic started a non-stop flight from L.A. to London in 2000, the sign proclaimed “Jolly Good” to mark the occasion.
5. Holli Would. Well, it still said “Hollywood,” but to promote the 1992 movie Cool World and its main character, Holli Would (voiced by Kim Basinger), a giant Holli was plopped on top of the letter “D.” Ugh.
6. Hollyweed. In January, 1976, the California state law on marijuana was loosened, prompting supporters (or was it detractors?) to “rename” the city.
7. Caltech. To commemorate Hollywood’s 100th anniversary in 2003, Caltech left a friendly little hello on the sign. The Time blurb on the prank says the students who did it used a cherry picker to hang their plastic sheets, making Ke$ha’s feat seem even more unrealistic.
8. Perotwood. During Ross Perot’s presidential bids in both 1992 and 1996, the sign was changed to support him.
9. Go UCLA. When USC and UCLA’s football teams play each other, both sides pull out all of the stops when it comes to pranks. This included 1993, when UCLA fans showed their support by risking life and limb to drape the sign.
10. Raffeysod. Although the Hollywood Sign website claims the meaning of this mysterious message is unknown, it’s believed that a band named “The Raffeys” were trying to make people talk about them and drum up a little publicity in 1985. Hey, it worked for Ke$ha.
So, what do you guys think about the video? Fake, right?
Comments (12)
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Wait. So did they cover up an “O” or and “L” to go holy?
posted by Kelsey on 2-5-2010 at 4:47 pm
Cool article. Kesha thing is totally fake. There’s not getting near the Hollywood sign dressed in bright white.
posted by Kelsey on 2-5-2010 at 4:54 pm
One of the “L”‘s covered.
posted by Amanda on 2-5-2010 at 5:12 pm
I love the magazine and blog, but I’m thinking it’s time for you guys to get a new blog editor. The typos are a bit embarrassing, don’t you think?
posted by Joe K on 2-5-2010 at 5:32 pm
it’s pretty obvious it’s fake. the mountain that this sign sits on, looks nothing like the hill the hollywood sign sits on. also there’s no homes THAT close to the sign, let alone a cul de sac that appears to be completely level.
aren’t the letters on the real sign 45 feet tall?
posted by Andrew on 2-5-2010 at 6:03 pm
Chalk it up to pregnancy brain plus me being killer tired lately. Sorry guys. :P Fixed.
posted by Stacy Conradt on 2-5-2010 at 6:19 pm
So fake, but cool stunt. You’d have to hike up to the sign (not an easy hike), then climb up (there are ladder steps behind each letter of the sign) at least 45 feet. Before the sign was fenced off, anyone could climb up to the sign. I did it!
posted by Jackie on 2-5-2010 at 8:14 pm
I’m sorry but who the (fill in the blank) is Kesha? I’m sorry but until you’re a name that any average person recognizes your not a superstar in any sense of the word..
There’s a reason why our local pop station (KROC) is referred to as crock, as in crock of……
posted by dbus on 2-5-2010 at 9:39 pm
I thought the Kesha video was kinda funny.. and it’s obviously fake. I dont know who she is, but she seems like a complete trainwreck.
posted by kimmy on 2-6-2010 at 8:59 am
To begin with, it was “HollyWOODLAND”, but the “LAND” fell off during World War One. Read “Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges into Hollywood”.
posted by Sara in AL on 2-6-2010 at 6:27 pm
Don’t forget the defemaing made by the gang of West Beverly Hills High when they graduated. (W BEV HI ’93)LOL
On a quick side note,in response to so many comments made by posters about typos,grammar errors,etc.(and not just on this post)I would like to see a post about the day in the life of mental_floss.com,a site that is constantly updating at all hours,and has many contributors that I cannot possibly foresee every single miniscule thing being picked up by editors and the like. (You know considering we read it here for free!)
posted by lisaj6112 on 2-6-2010 at 9:58 pm
oh,and that should say “defaming” or “defacing” ha!
posted by lisaj6112 on 2-6-2010 at 10:12 pm