DarkMode/LightMode
Light Mode

‘American Sniper’ Billboard Vandalized as Debate Rages

Officials in Los Angeles have taken down a billboard promoting Bradley Cooper’s American Sniper after a vandal scrawled the word “murder” on the movie poster amid a raging debate over the controversial film.

The Oscar-nominated picture, which features Cooper as real life crack shot U.S. soldier Chris Kyle, has become a hot topic in recent days as stars take sides over the divisive drama. It has now emerged that a billboard advertising director Clint Eastwood’s film in Los Angeles had to be removed over the weekend (beg17-18Jan15) after it was daubed with red graffiti, which spelled out “Murder!” in large red letters next to an image of Cooper.

Local news outlet Ktla.com reports the billboard was taken down following the incident.

- Advertisement -

Filmmaker Michael Moore recently came under fire for calling snipers “cowards” in a tweet, while Seth Rogen also hit headlines after he appeared to compare the film to Nazi propaganda. He later insisted he “wasn’t comparing the two”, but actor Dean Cain joined the dispute by telling Rogen to “go to war” before criticising soldiers like Kyle, who claimed to have made more than 150 kills throughout his career in the U.S. army.

Other stars to have waded into the debate include singer Blake Shelton, who tweeted of the furore, “Sickens me to see celebrities or anybody slam the very people who protect their right to talk s**t… True Cowards.” Jane Fonda, who was nicknamed Hanoi Jane for posing with opposition guns during the Vietnam War, risked further controversy by throwing her support behind the movie, calling it “powerful” and “sensational” in a message posted on Twitter.com.

Despite the fallout, American Sniper became a box office hit in the U.S. following its release this month (Jan15), but it scored disappointing sales in the U.K. on its opening weekend (16-18Jan15). The film will compete for the Best Picture Oscar at next month’s (Feb15) Academy Awards, while Cooper is in line for Best Actor.

- Advertisement -