'Hollyboob' Prank Planned By Insta Model After Social Media Ban Over Near-Nudity

A pair of influencers, along with four of their friends, changed the letters of the Hollywood sign on Monday to read “Hollyboob” before being arrested on Wednesday. While initial reports connected the effort with breast cancer awareness, social media influencer/model Julia Rose now says it was a protest of censorship on Instagram.

Instagram influencer Julia Rose poses Monday, Feb. 1 after changing the Hollywood sign to read "Hollyboob." (Courtesy Julia Rose)

Rose staged the protest after she was banned from Instagram for violating its policies and posting nearly nude photos. The act also served as an opportunity for Rose to promote her digital pornography magazine, Shagmag (which also had its Instagram account banned). She wore a Shagmag T-shirt and posted photos and video following the stunt, showing her arrest. The stunt was relatively successful...as shown by the fact that we're writing about it.

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She was joined by YouTuber Jack Tenney, who helped her pull it off. They’d made multiple previous attempts, they told the L.A. Times, but managed to complete the letter replacement after figuring out how to do it with just one giant tarp and one smaller piece of material, to turn the D into a B, instead of having to lug around two giant tarps.

The Hollywood Sign Trust thanked the LAPD and L.A. Park Rangers for their quick arrest of Rose and Tenney, describing the event as attempted vandalism. However, the two have been charged with trespassing, not vandalism, as there was no damage to the sign. There are currently a variety of security measures in place, including video monitoring, to protect the sign.

“There are those who think modifying the Sign is fun, but this renowned icon should be appreciated, not demeaned,” the Trust posted on its Twitter account.

LAPD Capt. Steve Lurie described what the influencers did as “way uncool.”

Rose previously flashed her breasts from behind home plate during the 2019 World Series. Rose and Tenney, along with their friends, are due in court June 3. No word yet on how she’ll turn the court hearing into another viral stunt to promote herself.

The stunt is another in the decades-long tradition of transforming the Hollywood Sign to make a statement, or use it a promotional opportunity, or, as in this case, both. This includes the sign being changed to say "Hollyweed" multiple times, from the 1970s all the way up to 2017.

You can read more about the history of Hollywood sign hijinx in this brief history we wrote about those changes over the decades — after that 2017 Hollyweed incident. A caller to KPCC's AirTalk on Tuesday took credit for being part of a group of Hollywood High School alumni responsible for the first Hollyweed sign change back in the 1970s, as well as several more over the years, including "Ollywood" during the Oliver North trial and "Oil War" during the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

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