Vandalized Hollywood sign briefly reads ‘HOLLYWeeD’

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

No, Los Angeles residents, it wasn’t your hangovers playing tricks on you. The Hollywood sign really did read “HOLLYWeeD” for a few hours on New Year’s Day.

Police were investigating Sunday after a prankster used giant tarps to turn two of the iconic sign’s white Os into Es sometime overnight.

The vandal, dressed in black, was recorded by security cameras and could face a misdemeanor trespassing charge, said Sgt. Robert Payan.

The prank may be a nod to California voters’ approval in November of Proposition 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana, beginning in 2018.

On Jan. 1, 1976 – a college student similarly altered the sign, using curtains to make it read “HOLLYWEED.”