Creepy Harvey Weinstein statue shows up on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Just in time for the Academy Awards, an unsubtle reminder of the sexual violence allegedly perpetrated by Oscar-winning film producer Harvey Weinstein has appeared on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The disconcerting statue, titled “Casting Couch,” presents a gilded Weinstein sitting atop a chaise lounge in a bathrobe, clutching an Oscar statuette suggestively. Located at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, it’s just a few blocks from the Dolby Theatre, where the awards ceremony will be held Sunday.

Amid a string of sexual assault allegations against Weinstein and many others over the past year, the statue is already proving to be a conversation piece and Instagram opportunity.

That’s part of the point, says one of the sculpture’s creators.

“Everyone wants a selfie, everyone wants to be part of the experience,” artist Plastic Jesus tells the Hollywood Reporter. The anonymous street artist collaborated with Joshua “Ginger” Monroe on the project (the latter was behind the nude Donald Trump statue that popped up on Hollywood Boulevard prior to the 2016 election).

Plastic Jesus tells the Reporter that the statue is designed to give “a visual representation of the practices and methods that are used in Hollywood with these big powerful people,” in order to encourage the industry to “clean up its act.”

• Gold Harvey Weinstein Casting Couch Appears Near Oscars Venue [The Hollywood Reporter]