hollyweed

Shocker: ‘Hollyweed’ Sign Artist Is a Big Stoner, Friend of Tommy Chong, and Lover of Peace

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Holywood? Nay, Hollyweed. Photo: AFP/AFP/Getty Images

When the iconic Hollywood sign was altered — via a rather ingenious placement of tarps — on January 1 of this year to read “Hollyweed,” most of us shrugged it off as the work of a pot-loving, minor-crime-committing artist. The type of person who’d, say, paint his vintage Volkswagen van tie-dye and drive it around Laurel Canyon, handing out edibles. But some, including the LAPD, thought the alteration a serious act of vandalism, one for which the perpetrator must be stopped. Well, as of tonight, they haven’t caught the guy, but The Hollywood Reporter (allegedly) has: His “name” is Jesus Hands, and he changed the sign not to make some grand political statement, but, as he puts it, out of “peace and love.”

“2016 was a rough year for a lot of people,” Jesus Hands told THR. He describes wanting to alleviate that via the good vibes his sign change implied. As for creating the actual “art piece,” Mr. Hands calls it “a spiritual experience.” Hands, whose real name appears to be Zach, and who has spent some time hanging with fellow weed advocate Tommy Chong (per Chong’s Twitter), is reportedly not afraid of legal ramifications for his actions. In fact, while up there on the sign, he claims he cleaned up some litter. “I left the area cleaner than I found it,” he said. Right on, man.

Shocker: ‘Hollyweed’ Sign Artist Is a Big Stoner