The iconic Hollywood sign overlooking Los Angeles, Calif. read “Hollyweed” for a short period of time, thanks to a new year’s prank.
The jokester seems to have placed a blue tarp over each “o” in the word, while a white tarp is placed in the middle, making e’s in the o’s places. It was changed back to normal soon after, but not after several snaps of the alterations were taken.
No one has claimed responsibility for the prank, but according to security footage, one person seems to have carried it out around 3 a.m. on Jan. 1. The Los Angeles Times reports that the person responsible could face a misdemeanor trespassing charge.
The New York Daily News writes that the viral pic “came on the first New Year’s Day since Californians voted to legalize recreational marijuana through last year’s Proposition 64, also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act.”
Reports also say that the same prank was pulled 41 years ago, when a Cal State Northridge arts student named Danny Finegood changed the sign to say “Hollyweed” to commemorate the day the state enacted lenient marijuana laws for the first time. He wasn’t reprimanded- in fact, he was celebrated for the act with an “A” grade on a class assignment.
Happy New Year, California.
#hollyweed – that’s were I get my mail. #merryjane pic.twitter.com/t5YgjAcEVv
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) January 1, 2017
1976 vs 2017 WHO WORE IT BETTER? #hollyweed pic.twitter.com/hiIQbEundI
— Keegan Allen (@KeeganAllen) January 1, 2017
Hi. I’m Zedd and I live in Hollyweed Hills.
— Zedd (@Zedd) January 1, 2017