# Donald Trumps Hollywood Star > Donald Trump's Hollywood Star is a 2016-17 political photo-fad meme centered on the vandalized Walk of Fame plaque, sparked by viral images of supporters cleaning the graffiti. Donald Trump's Hollywood Star is the Walk of Fame plaque honoring Donald Trump that became one of the most vandalized landmarks in Los Angeles after his entry into politics. Installed in 2007 for his work on *The Apprentice*, the star turned into a recurring protest site, art installation canvas, and viral meme generator starting in 2016. A 2017 photo of a young Trump supporter cleaning graffiti off the star kicked off one of the biggest political photo fad memes of that year. ## Origin The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded Trump his star on January 16, 2007, recognizing his role as producer and host of NBC's *The Apprentice*[8]. For nearly a decade, the star sat undisturbed on the sidewalk. That changed in 2016. On July 22, street artist Plastic Jesus constructed a miniature concrete wall around the star, a pointed reference to Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico[4]. The six-inch barrier sealed the plaque off from the rest of the walkway and drew immediate media attention. Plastic Jesus told artnet News that "artists are able to connect and convey opinion in a universal way" and that art "encourages dialogue and debate like no other media"[4]. Then on October 26, 2016, James Lambert Otis arrived dressed as a construction worker and attacked the star with a sledgehammer and pickaxe, destroying it[2]. Otis later pleaded no contest to felony vandalism[2]. The star was repaired, but a pattern had been set. The plaque was now a political lightning rod. - **Platform:** Twitter (viral meme format), Hollywood Walk of Fame (physical site) - **Creator:** @makenna_mg (viral cleaning photo), Plastic Jesus (street art installations), James Lambert Otis (first destruction), Austin Mikel Clay (second destruction) - **Date:** 2016 (political meme era), 2007 (star installed) ## Overview Donald Trump's Hollywood Star refers to the star-shaped terrazzo and brass plaque on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard. The star itself is unremarkable by Walk of Fame standards. What makes it a meme is the sheer volume of vandalism, protest art, and counter-protest activity it attracted once Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015. The star has been smashed with pickaxes (twice), walled off with miniature concrete barriers, caged behind metal bars, defaced with graffiti, and even fake-urinated on by comedian George Lopez[2]. Each incident spawned its own cycle of viral photos, reaction tweets, and parody content. The star also produced one of 2017's biggest political memes when a photo of a young woman cleaning it went massively viral and got remixed into hundreds of joke versions. ## How It Spread The star's transformation into a full-blown meme happened on June 28, 2017. Twitter user @makenna_mg posted photos of herself kneeling beside the star with cleaning supplies, captioning the post: "Stopped to clean @realDonaldTrump Hollywood Star. Nothing but respect for MY President. #RaisedRight"[5]. Within five days, the tweet pulled in over 55,000 retweets and 208,000 likes[5]. Conservative figures including Eric Trump, Sean Hannity, and Mike Cernovich amplified the post[7]. The backlash and parody came fast. A now-private Twitter account posted a counter-image of a woman standing over the graffiti-covered star with both middle fingers raised[5]. On June 30, the account @polNewsForever posted the two photos side by side with racially charged commentary, drawing over 5,300 retweets[5]. A quote tweet by @lexi4prez flipped the framing with "rt for the lit hispanic girl," pulling 170,000 retweets and 130,000 likes[5]. The meme format exploded on July 1 when @jake__stubbs posted a parody photo of himself kneeling before Meryl Streep's Walk of Fame star with the caption: "Stopped to clean @MerylStreep Hollywood Star. Nothing but respect for MY President. #RaisedRight"[5]. That tweet hit 84,000 retweets and 327,000 likes in two days[5]. The joke spread rapidly, with people posing in front of stars belonging to Pitbull, Shrek, Cher, Godzilla, and Britney Spears, all captioned with the same "MY President" format[7]. Other users also dug up old racist tweets from @makenna_mg's account, adding another layer of internet drama to the whole episode[9]. ## How to Use The star functions as a meme in several ways: **The "MY President" photo fad:** Take a photo of yourself kneeling beside any Walk of Fame star (or similar plaque) with cleaning supplies. Caption it with "Stopped to clean [person]'s Hollywood Star. Nothing but respect for MY President. #RaisedRight." The humor comes from choosing absurd "presidents" like Shrek, Pitbull, or fictional characters. **Vandalism reaction format:** When new photos of the star being destroyed or defaced surface, they're typically shared as reaction content with commentary ranging from celebratory to outraged, depending on the poster's political alignment. **Protest art documentation:** Each Plastic Jesus installation (the wall, the bars, the toilet) gets photographed and shared as its own micro-meme cycle. ## Cultural Impact The star became a physical battleground for American political polarization in a way few other landmarks have. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce's refusal to remove any stars, combined with the repeated vandalism and repairs, created a Sisyphean loop that both sides of the political spectrum used to score points[6]. West Hollywood's unanimous council vote to seek removal, while legally toothless, made international news and prompted heated debate about whether public monuments should reflect current moral standards[6]. The Chamber's position that "a celebrity's politics, philosophy, irrational behavior, or outrageous remarks have never been cause to remove a Walk of Fame star" became a frequently cited policy statement[6]. The star also highlighted the contrast between digital and physical protest. While online memes about the star spread to millions, the physical acts of vandalism carried real legal consequences. Otis pleaded no contest to felony vandalism[2], and Clay faced up to three years in prison[6]. The cost of repairs exceeded $20,000 by 2023[3]. George Lopez's fake urination on the star in July 2018 added a celebrity dimension to the ongoing saga[2]. The comedian used a small water bottle to simulate the act, and the video went viral as another entry in the star's long catalog of indignities. ## Fun Facts - Austin Mikel Clay concealed his pickaxe in a guitar case and listened to Death Grips for motivation before destroying the star[1]. - Police found a small piece of star rubble in Clay's shirt pocket during processing. He wished they hadn't so he could keep it as a souvenir[1]. - Clay claimed one of his Secret Service visitors gave him a high five after discussing the incident[1]. - The Walk of Fame has never removed a single star in its history, not even those belonging to individuals convicted of serious crimes[6]. - Despite the star being monitored by CCTV cameras, it has no special physical security or protection[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Donald Trump's Hollywood Star? It's the star-shaped plaque on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, awarded to Donald Trump in 2007 for his work on *The Apprentice*[8]. It became a major meme and protest site after 2016. ### Where did the Donald Trump's Hollywood Star meme come from? The star became a meme during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign when street artist Plastic Jesus built a miniature wall around it[4]. The "MY President" photo fad specifically started from a June 2017 tweet by @makenna_mg[5]. ### What does Donald Trump's Hollywood Star mean as a meme? It functions as a symbol of political polarization. For Trump critics, vandalizing or mocking the star is protest. For supporters, defending or cleaning it is patriotism[7]. The parody format ("MY President") mocks both stances. ### How do you use the Donald Trump's Hollywood Star meme? The most common format is photographing yourself beside any Walk of Fame star with cleaning supplies and captioning it "Nothing but respect for MY President. #RaisedRight," inserting an absurd or comedic choice of "president"[5]. ### Is Donald Trump's Hollywood Star still popular? The star still attracts vandalism and viral attention. As of January 2025, a defacement photo reached over 109,000 upvotes on Reddit[3], showing the cycle is ongoing. ### How many times has Trump's star been destroyed? The star has been physically destroyed at least twice: by James Lambert Otis with a sledgehammer and pickaxe in October 2016, and by Austin Mikel Clay with a pickaxe in July 2018[2]. ### Who destroyed Trump's star with a pickaxe? Austin Mikel Clay, 24 at the time, destroyed the star on July 25, 2018. He turned himself in about an hour later at the Beverly Hills Police Department[2]. He was charged with felony vandalism[6]. ### Did the city vote to remove Trump's star? West Hollywood's city council voted unanimously on August 7, 2018 to seek removal, but the vote was symbolic since the Walk of Fame is controlled by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which has never removed a star[6]. ### How much has it cost to repair Trump's star? By 2023, the Hollywood Historic Trust had spent more than $20,000 on repairs across multiple vandalism incidents[3]. ### Who is Plastic Jesus and what did he do to the star? Plastic Jesus is an anonymous Los Angeles street artist who created multiple protest installations on the star, including a miniature concrete border wall in 2016 and metal prison bars in September 2018[4]. ### What happened to the girl who cleaned Trump's star? Twitter user @makenna_mg went viral for cleaning the star in June 2017, gaining support from conservative figures. However, other users quickly dug up old racist tweets from her account, complicating the narrative[9]. ### Can the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce remove a star? Technically yes, but they have a firm policy against it. President Leron Gubler stated that stars are "considered a part of the historic fabric of the Hollywood Walk of Fame" and none have ever been removed, including those of convicted criminals[6]. ## References 1. [West Hollywood City Council Demands Removal of Trump’s Walk of Fame Star]() 2. [Was Donald Trump's Hollywood Star Vandalized Recently? Fact-Checking Viral Claims | US News - Times Now]() 3. [Donald Trump’s Hollywood Star Vandalized With Four Words In Viral Photo - Newsweek]() 4. [Donald Trump's Hollywood Star - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Mug shot of Donald Trump]() 6. [Girl Cleans Off Donald Trump's Hollywood Star & The Internet Turns Her Into a Meme]() 7. [The Man Who Destroyed Donald Trump's Hollywood Star Explains Himself | GQ]() 8. [Walk of Shame? A Guerrilla Artist Put Donald Trump’s Hollywood Star Behind Bars—Literally]() 9. [Woman Cleans Donald Trump’s Hollywood Star And Inspires Hilarious Meme]() 10. [West Hollywood City Council Demands Removal of Trump’s Walk of Fame Star]() 11. [Man Claiming He Destroyed Donald Trump's Walk Of Fame Star Turns Himself In - CBS Los Angeles]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/donald-trumps-hollywood-star Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library