The West Hollywood City Council voted Monday night to urge the removal of President Donald Trump’s star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The council cited a plethora of reasons for the vote including: his attacks on minorities, women, disabled people, and Muslims.
However, Trump isn’t the first racist, alleged sexual predator, or shady person to have a star on the Walk of Fame, which is the property of the City of Los Angeles. The city actually has the final decision on whether Trump’s star will be removed. And, looking at its track record of glorifying flawed stars, it’s highly doubtful that will happen
West Hollywood Mayor John Duran made the announcement of the council’s vote in a Twitter post, using hashtags like #unAmericanvalues and #MakeAmericaintoAmericanAgain to echo the sentiment behind removing his star.
The group will send a formal letter to the Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles City Council and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce demanding its removal.
Meanwhile, the chamber released a statement, which indicates they most likely will not remove the former reality TV star’s marker:
“The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a registered historic landmark,” said Leron Gubler, the organization’s president and CEO. “Once a star has been added to the Walk, it is considered a part of the historic fabric of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Because of this, we have never removed a star from the Walk.”
So, they’ve never removed a star of a racist or even someone found guilty of sexual harassment or worse.
The stars of celebrities like Bill Cosby remain, even though the former, beloved TV dad was found guilty of sexual assault. And, Mark Wahlberg, an admitted racist, gets to keep his star. Wahlberg was even arrested for the attempted murder of two Vietnamese-American men.
Anyone, including fans, can nominate a person active in the field of entertainment for a star on the Walk of Fame, as long as the nominee or his or her management approves the nomination. Nominees must have a minimum of five years’ experience in the category for which they are nominated and a history of “charitable contributions.”
If a person is selected, they commit to paying the current “sponsorship” fee of $40,000. Per the Walk of Fame website, the funds are used to pay for the creation/installation of the star and ceremony, as well as maintenance of the Walk of Fame.
When Trump was given the star in 2007, he only paid $30,000. The star has been vandalized at least four times and has had to be replaced at least two times. Even though recurring repairs are a nuisance to the city, it will seemingly remain.
Hollywood’s moral compass has never been consistent. However, its dedication to holding on to its money has.
