Donald Trump enjoyed little support within Hollywood during his presidency, with stars publicly united in criticizing the former president.
Among them was comedian George Lopez, who came under fire in 2020 for making an apparent joke about an $80 million bounty for President Donald Trump's head.
The comedian's feud with Trump reared its head again this week when videos widely shared on Twitter showed what appeared to be Lopez urinating on Donald Trump's star along the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Claim
Multiple tweets posted between May 22 and May 23, 2023, included a video of George Lopez pouring liquid over Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star, claimed to depict Lopez urinating. A censor blur appears over where the liquid comes from.
One tweet by user @MikeASperrazza, posted on May 22, 2023, viewed 16,000 times said: "Now just imagine if a Trump supporter did this to something with @BarackObama name all over it.
"@georgelopez cmon man. Republicans and conservatives, it's time to wake up and grow a pair. The left will piss all over us, literally. Toughen up please."
The Facts
Lopez's animosity toward Trump is well documented. Responding to an Instagram post about an $80 million bounty for the former president, at a funeral procession for Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, Lopez wrote, "We'll do it for half."
No matter Lopez's thoughts toward the former president, however, the video of him "urinating" on the former president's Walk of Fame star has been altered.
The original video was captured in 2018 and showed Lopez using a small water bottle to make it appear that he was relieving himself on the star.
The clip went viral on Twitter and was shared by major media outlets, including Newsweek.
In the videos that were shared on Twitter this week, the censor blur was added to make it appear to be something worse, with deceptive captions included to strengthen that impression.
Editing footage with misleading headlines is a common misinformation trope used to discredit or embarrass public figures.
Only recently, a clip widely shared on social media showed what appeared to be a crowd at the University of Pennsylvania shouting "F*** Joe Biden" at the president as he attended his granddaughter's graduation.
The audio was edited into the original clip, which featured no such chant, as it has been done elsewhere on a number of occasions.
The Ruling
Misleading Material.
The video does not depict Lopez urinating on Trump's star. It is edited footage from 2018 of the comedian using a water bottle to make it appear as if he did.
A censor's blur was added over the original footage to make it appear that the comedian was urinating, with captions added to strengthen that impression.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
