Naked lunchtime: physical altercation in NYC over nude Clinton statue
The sculptor of an obscene statue of a nude Hillary Clinton positioned his creation on a New York street and almost came to blows with women who objected to the exhibit; after the women toppled the statue, it was removed by police order.
Artist Anthony Scioli positioned a statue of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Manhattan on Tuesday, adding his own artistic shade to an already overcast election.
The statue depicted a naked and obscene version of Clinton, with hooves for feet and a Wall Street banker resting his head on her bare breasts. Passersby were shocked and revolted, with two women entering into a physical altercation with the artist over the statue's removal.
The statue was placed outside the Bowling Green Station early morning and stood for less than three hours before being knocked down by a woman working at the nearby National Museum of the American Indian. The woman, identifying herself simply as "Nancy," toppled the statue and proceeded to angrily yell at Scioli. "I don't need to see this," she told the Daily News.
Scioli and "Nancy" really went at it over whether the statue of a naked Hillary Clinton basically breastfeeding Wall Street was to remain standing. At one point, "Nancy" sat on the statue to prevent Scioli from repositioning it. It was then that another woman, wearing a hijab, put her own foot down on the statue and told Scioli, "Leave it alone, just let it go."
As a crowd began to gather, others began to voice their own opinions. A third woman spoke up, saying that the statue should remain where it stood, citing freedom of speech.
At around 8:30pm, NYC Police arrived at the scene and ordered Scioli to remove the provocative statue since he had failed to acquire a permit for what amounted to his personal demonstration.
The controversial statue came after five naked statues of Republican nominee were placed in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland and Seattle during the month of August.
