Vandals Deface Elvis Presley’s Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Elvis Presley is a musical legend who brought rock music to the masses. However, the King of Rock and Roll isn’t without his detractors. Some point to his pursuit of younger—and underage—women or the fact that he performed music that was, at the time, predominantly the music of Black artists. Recently, one critic made their feelings about Elvis clear when they defaced his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Reddit user GrungeCowboy73 took to the Elvis community to share a photo of the defaced Walk of Fame Star. “Can’t believe this desecration in Hollywood,” the user wrote in the post’s caption. The photo shows the star with Presley’s name crossed out in permanent marker. Above his name, the vandal scrawled the word “Racist.”

[RELATED: 3 Eternal Elvis Presley Classics that Have Stood the Test of Time]

Can’t believe this desecration in Hollywood
byu/GrungeCowboy73 inElvis

Comments on the post revealed that the Redditor, a Los Angeles resident, went to visit Presley’s star on New Year’s Day and found it defaced. Further comments from locals indicated that this was not the first time the Walk of Fame had been vandalized.

Elvis Presley’s Star Was an Early Addition to the Hollywood Walk of Fame

According to the Hollywood Walk of Fame website, E.M. Stuart, who served as the volunteer president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 1953, came up with the idea for the Walk of Fame. He thought of it as a means to “maintain the glory of a community whose name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world.”

After years of consideration, the Chamber of Commerce finalized plans for the Walk of Fame in 1958. That year, they unveiled the first eight stars to give the world a peek at what the Walk would look like in the future. Two years later, they began dedicating stars to legends of film, television, music, and more.

According to his profile on the Walk of Fame’s official website, Elvis Presley received his star in February 1960. They relocated Presley’s star in 1996 due to wear and tear. Now, it sits beside The Beatles’ star under the Hollywood Goddess gazebo at the corner of La Brea Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard.

Featured image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images