Statue based on iconic V-J Day kissing photo spray-painted with #MeToo

Julia Jacobo
ABC News
Tue, 19 Feb 2019 21:24 UTC

© Sarasota Police Department

The "Unconditional Surrender" statue in Sarasota, Fla., was found vandalized on Feb. 19, 2019.

A statue inspired by the iconic photograph of a World War II sailor kissing a woman in Times Square, New York City, was vandalized just days after the sailor in the photograph died.

The "Unconditional Surrender" statue in Sarasota, Florida, had "#MeToo" emblazoned in red spray paint on the woman's left leg, a photograph released by the Sarasota Police Department shows.

Police were called to the scene at around 12:53 a.m. Tuesday but did not find any cans of spray paint in the area, according to a press release.

Nothing else in the area was spraypainted or defaced, police said.

There are no known witnesses to the crime and there is no available surveillance video in the area, according to authorities.

The damage is estimated to cost about $1,000 to fix.

© Hartford Courant/TNS via Getty Images

George Mendonsa holds one of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century at his Middletown, R.I., Oct. 23 2012

The sailor in the photograph, George Mendonsa, died at the age of 95 on Sunday after he had a seizure at the assisted living facility in Middletown, Rhode Island, where he lived with his wife of 70 years, The Providence Journal reported.

The iconic photograph was taken after people spilled onto the streets of New York City on Aug. 14, 1945, on what is known as V-J Day, the day Japan surrendered to the U.S., according to The Associated Press.

Comment: Well...there is this:

A few facts have come to light. Far from being a kiss between a loving couple, we learn that George and Greta were perfect strangers. We learn that George was drunk, and that Greta had no idea of his presence, until she was in his arms, with his lips on hers.

The articles even give us Greta's own words:

"It wasn't my choice to be kissed. The guy just came over and grabbed!"

"I did not see him approaching, and before I knew it, I was in this vice grip."

"You don't forget this guy grabbing you."

"That man was very strong. I wasn't kissing him. He was kissing me."

It seems pretty clear, then, that what George had committed was sexual assault. Yet, in an amazing feat of willful blindness, none of the articles comment on this, even as they reproduce Greta's words for us. Without a single acknowledgement of the problematic nature of the photo that her comments reveal, they continue to talk about the picture in a whimsical, reverent manner, "still mesmerized by his timeless kiss." George's actions are romanticized and glorified; it is almost as if Greta had never spoken.