Donald Trump has the most hated star on the Walk of Fame, Hollywood Boulevard's Batman says
There are more than 2,500 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but only one regularly compels people to stomp on it, deface it with spray paint, and pretend it's a toilet.
The star belongs to Donald Trump, and street entertainer Austin Franklin, who patrols the area dressed as Batman, says he's astounded by the things that happen on the tiny piece of sidewalk. "I've never seen this kind of hate put on a star before, not even Bill Cosby," he told The Wrap. "At least 50" tourists clomp over the star at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. every day, he said, while others "pretend to take a dump on it as they pose for pictures."
Mimicking defecation is one of the tamer things to happen at the star, which Trump received in 2007 and is on prime real estate outside the Hollywood and Highland complex. Last week — months after a vandal used yellow spray paint to cross out Trump's name on the star — someone used black spray paint to scrawl a swastika on it, and although it was quickly cleaned up, a snapshot of the damage was posted on Reddit. Franklin/Batman has witnessed a lot go down on this stretch of the Walk of Fame, and said there's just one place in the world where a piece of terrazzo could elicit such rage: "Only in Hollywood."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
5 loony toons about the Warner Bros. buyoutCartoons Artists take on movie theaters, high quality cinema, and more
-
Political cartoons for December 13Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include saving healthcare, the affordability crisis, and more
-
Farage’s £9m windfall: will it smooth his path to power?In Depth The record donation has come amidst rumours of collaboration with the Conservatives and allegations of racism in Farage's school days
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
