The Hollywood Walk of Fame has never had a star removed from the iconic area but one man has been on a mission to make that happen.
Andrew Rudick launched a petition to remove former President Donald Trump’s star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2020, but three years later, that effort has garnered less than 4,000 signatures. And while Rudick is as determined as ever, it seems the response from others has been lukewarm, according to KTLA.
“I think the city should take themselves up on that charge and finally stop being ‘paper lion Democrats’ and act,” he told Nexstar’s KTLA. “Instead of saying, ‘We’re going to talk the talk,’ you know, you have to walk the walk too…and this is something that can happen.”
Years before he ran for president, Trump was awarded the star in 2007. It has been repeatedly vandalized by haters and restored since he added the title of president to his resume.
There is “no known precedent” for removing a star, according to Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez.
“We’re looking into where the authority lies, what the legal issues may be and what a process for it might look like,” he said in September.
“Despite the controversy that may surround the 45th president, many were seen taking pictures by his star on Wednesday afternoon, but reactions to whether it should be removed permanently were mixed.,” KTLA reported.
“I think that it was of a given time in history and that’s where it should stay regardless of how you feel about it,” one woman said.
“I wouldn’t be sad to see it go,” one man admitted.
Besides his real estate business, Trump was also a producer of “The Apprentice” and the Miss Universe Pageant. And at this time of year as holiday movies make the rounds on television, his cameo appearance in “Home Alone 2” again sparked a mixture of laughs and tears.
“Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2” Director Chris Columbus claimed that Trump “did bully his way” into the film, earning a scathing rebuke from the former president.
“We paid the fee, but he also said, ‘The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie,’” Columbus recounted in a 2020 interview with Business Insider.
“People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen,” he recalled of test screenings. “So I said to my editor, ‘Leave him in the movie. It’s a moment for the audience.’ But he did bully his way into the movie.”
Trump, who sold the Plaza Hotel where the second “Home Alone” film was based, in 1995, fired back in a post on Truth Social.
“30 years ago (how time flies!), Director Chris Columbus, and others, were begging me to make a cameo appearance in Home Alone 2. They rented the Plaza Hotel in New York, which I owned at the time. I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent. I agreed, and the rest is history! That little cameo took off like a rocket, and the movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmas time,” Trump wrote.
“People call me whenever it is aired. Now, however, 30 years later, Columbus (what was his real name?) put out a statement that I bullied myself into the movie. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he continued.
“That cameo helped make the movie a success, but if they felt bullied, or didn’t want me, why did they put me in, and keep me there, for over 30 years? Because I was, and still am, great for the movie, that’s why! ” Trump added. “Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”
