The West Hollywood City Council has unanimously voted on August 6th that Donald Trump’s star on the Walk of Fame should be removed. That’s big news, right? After all, the New York Post announced “Donald Trump’s star voted off Hollywood Walk of Fame.” The MSN headline reads “Trump’s star on the Walk of Fame to be permanently removed after West Hollywood council vote.” Even the UK Independent got in on the act with the rather large headline, “Hollywood Walk of Fame stars: Why is Trump’s being removed, when were they introduced and do celebrities really have to pay for them?“
Sounds like it’s officially a go, right? There’s just one big problem:
West Hollywood and Hollywood are not the same place.
West Hollywood is its own independent city. Hollywood is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles. West Hollywood has zero jurisdiction over Hollywood. So what actually happened?
The City Council of West Hollywood will be sending a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce urging them to remove the star. That’s it. The New York Post article even notes that the removal will likely never happen.
“The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a registered historic landmark. 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,” said Leron Gubler, the organization’s president and CEO.
This also prevents the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce from having to refund the $30,000 a star or their publicity representative pays to get a star included in the Walk of Fame (L.A. Times). Not just that but they are to be honored for their “contributions to the entertainment industry,” which explains why Absolut Vodka has a star on The Walk (HWOF.com)
So, no, nothing is going to happen to Trump’s star. Surely the misinformation lies in the clickbait headlines, right? In the case of New York Post, yes. If you read four paragraphs into it they explain what is occurred. The MSN and Independent, however, are reporting it as if this were an official action announced, and as if West Hollywood and Hollywood were exactly the same. This is problematic in a time where mainstream press is under attack for “fake news”. Now is the time where they should be extra careful, especially when the news is as easily verifiable as this.