Melbourne’s iconic Hosier Lane was a little busier than usual yesterday thanks to a new mural by local graff artist Lushsux, which paid tribute to the late Taylor Swift.
Well, actually the mural was erected in loving memory of ‘Taylor Smith’ and whilst we’re not quite sure who that is, we can tell you that Taylor Swift is very much alive.
It’s little wonder then that Lushsux’s mural became an even bigger sensation than his controversial naked Kim Kardashian mural, which he put up back in March.
The ‘Taylor Smith’ mural went viral shortly after Lushsux posted about it on his Instagram page. It was reported on by everybody from News Corp at home, to the UK’s Mirror, and New York Magazine.
And now it’s gone. Taking to Instagram, LushSux claimed that he’d received an email from one of the pop sensation’s lawyers, threatening the artist with legal action if he doesn’t remove the mural.
Speaking to New York Daily News, LushSux said the alleged email was “your typical cease and desist kind of legalese garble email”, though he wouldn’t go into specific details.
“But there have been multiple threats from Taylor Swift’s own version of the Hitler youth, who dub themselves ‘Swiftys,’ to go down and destroy the wall,” he continued.
“I’m sure I can cook up a round two for the spot if it gets destroyed. I may even go down and change it around tonight for another good laugh.” LushSux suggested he may replace Swift’s face with Caveman Spongebob’s.
He’s now gone and done exactly that. As you can see via the artist’s Instagram, Swift’s face is now that of Caveman Spongebob’s and the mural is now a loving tribute to Harambe, the gorilla who was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo in May.
According to LushSux, since he put up the mural on Wednesday, people have been flocking to the site to leave “empty beer bottles, cheap roses and even cheaper candles”. “Real classy down there at the moment,” he added.
