Vandalized Hollywood sign briefly reads ‘HOLLYWeeD’

The Hollywood sign is seen vandalized Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. Los Angeles residents awoke New Year's Day to find a prankster had altered the famed Hollywood sign to read "HOLLYWeeD." Police have notified the city's Department of General Services, whose officers patrol Griffith Park and the area of the rugged Hollywood Hills near the sign. California voters in November approved Proposition 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana, beginning in 2018. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) The Hollywood sign is seen vandalized Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. Los Angeles residents awoke New Year's Day to find a prankster had altered the famed Hollywood sign to read "HOLLYWeeD." Police have notified the city's Department of General Services, whose officers patrol Griffith Park and the area of the rugged Hollywood Hills near the sign. California voters in November approved Proposition 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana, beginning in 2018. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

By Associated Press January 1, 2017 2 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – No, Los Angeles residents, it wasn’t your hangovers playing tricks on you. The Hollywood sign really did read “HOLLYWeeD” for a few hours on New Year’s Day.

Police were investigating Sunday after a prankster used giant tarps to turn two of the iconic sign’s white Os into Es sometime overnight.

The vandal, dressed in all black, was recorded by security cameras and could face a misdemeanor trespassing charge, said Sgt. Robert Payan.

The person scaled a protective fence surrounding the sign above Griffith Park and then clambered up each giant letter to drape the coverings, Payan said.

The prank may be a nod to California voters’ approval in November of Proposition 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana, beginning in 2018.