Melania Trump Film Targeted by Vandalism, Prompts Transit Route Changes in Los Angeles
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A controversial film featuring former First Lady Melania Trump has become the target of widespread vandalism across Los Angeles, leading city officials to proactively adjust public transportation routes to mitigate further damage. The incidents, claimed by activist art collective INCLINE, highlight the intense public reaction surrounding the film’s release and marketing campaign.
The escalating situation began with alterations to billboards advertising the film. INCLINE took responsibility, stating on social media that they “have gone to great lengths and risks to help create a little marketing buzz ahead of the premiere.” A video accompanying the statement depicted a masked individual defacing a billboard with a highly provocative image suggesting the former First Lady was engaging in an inappropriate act involving an American flag.
Vandalism Spreads Across the City
The initial billboard defacement quickly spread to other forms of advertising throughout the Los Angeles area. White-pasted posters and bus stop displays were targeted, with vandals adding devil horns, a Hitler mustache, and the word “deport” to images of Melania Trump. The extent of the vandalism prompted a significant response from the Los Angeles Metro.
“After seeing significant vandalism at city bus stops on advertising for the Melania movie, Metro proactively reassigned some of the buses containing that advertising to other geographic areas to minimize potential vandalism,” a transit agency spokesperson told NBC LA. This decision, made in the interest of protecting riders, employees, and assets, reflects the seriousness with which officials are treating the situation.
Metro Reassigns Buses to Avoid Further Damage
According to a Metro spokesperson, the decision to reroute buses was based on past experiences with vandalism during periods of heightened public activity. “Given that Metro buses have had significant vandalism and damage during previous periods of heightened public activity,” the spokesperson elaborated, “we made the decision in the interest of protecting our riders, employees and assets, and out of an abundance of caution, to shift some of these buses to areas where we were not observing that vandalism.”
The reassignment of buses is not expected to disrupt commuters, as the advertising campaign is a four-week buy, currently in its third week. The film itself was released in approximately 1500 theaters across the US and Canada on Friday and is anticipated to eventually become available on Amazon Prime Video, though a specific streaming date has not yet been announced.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has yet to respond to inquiries from Vanity Fair regarding the specifics of the bus reassignment. This incident underscores the increasingly fraught intersection of political discourse, public art, and commercial advertising in the current cultural landscape.
