February 20, 2015. An Oscar statue is pictured outside the Dolby theater during preparations leading up to the 87th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. (Reuters)
Days before the movie industry’s biggest night, a street artist wasn’t about to let Hollywood forget about its more sordid side.
On Thursday, a life-sized golden Oscar statue appeared next to Elvis Presley’s star on Hollywood Boulevard, but rather than the normal triumphant pose millions of movie fans are used to seeing, this statue was crouched on all fours, snorting a line of cocaine. The artist later removed the piece following reported complaints.
The shocking piece, which bears a plaque that reads “Hollywood’s Best Party,” is the work of Los Angeles-based street artist Plastic Jesus, who on his website explained that his work was “intended to draw attention to Hollywood’s hidden problem of drug addiction that affects hundreds of people in the showbiz industry and is largely ignored until the death of a high profile – A list celebrity.”
The artist’s crew removed the statue later on Thursday after a disgruntled passerby called the Chamber of Commerce, reports CBS 2 Los Angeles.
The statue is slated to go back on display in front of an Urban Outfitters on Melrose Avenue over the weekend.
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