GTA 6 Brooklyn Mural Vandalized With 'JELOUS' Graffiti
Rockstar's hand-painted GTA 6 mural of Jason and Lucia in Williamsburg, Brooklyn was tagged with 'JELOUS' graffiti less than a month after it was finished. Here's what happened.
Jason and Lucia sit in a convertible with the top down, neon reflecting off the windshield. Both are holding handguns.Image: Rockstar Games
Rockstar's giant GTA 6 mural in Brooklyn didn't even last a monthReported1. creativebloq.com — The "ruined" GTA VI advert controversy is pretty ironic. Colossal Media artists hand-painted it in seven daysReported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch, finishing on October 10Reported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch3. libertycity.net — GTA 6 Mural in Brooklyn Vandalized Less Than a Month After Completion. Then a graffiti artist who goes by Jelous sprayed a huge black-and-white tag across itReported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch3. libertycity.net — GTA 6 Mural in Brooklyn Vandalized Less Than a Month After Completion4. Side Scrollers Bits — GTA 6 Just Had A Marketing Disaster5. ZN VAULT — Someone Vandalized Rockstar’s GTA 6 Mural… And Fans Love It?6. thegamer.com — Brooklyn's First GTA 6 Mural Has Been Vandalised After Less Than A Monthand 3 more. Photos of the tag went up on Instagram on November 5Reported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch, about two weeks before GTA 6 launches on November 19Reported10. gadgetreview.com — GTA VI's Brooklyn Mural Hit With Graffiti Tag Two Weeks Before Launch - Gadget Review.
Quick answers
Question
Answer
Where is the mural?
Wythe Avenue and North 11th Street, Williamsburg, BrooklynReported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch3. libertycity.net — GTA 6 Mural in Brooklyn Vandalized Less Than a Month After Completion9. vgtimes.com — Grand Theft Auto VI Mural in Brooklyn Defaced Less Than a Month After Completion11. rockstarintel.com — A GTA 6 Mural Is Being Painted In New York City12. notebookcheck.net — GTA 6: Huge New York mural nearly complete, artist shares details
Who painted it?
Colossal Media, by handReported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch
When was it finished?
October 10Reported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch3. libertycity.net — GTA 6 Mural in Brooklyn Vandalized Less Than a Month After Completion
What happened?
A "JELOUS" tag was sprayed across the bottomReported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch3. libertycity.net — GTA 6 Mural in Brooklyn Vandalized Less Than a Month After Completion
Who did it?
Photos came from the Instagram account jelous.ktdReported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch3. libertycity.net — GTA 6 Mural in Brooklyn Vandalized Less Than a Month After Completion5. ZN VAULT — Someone Vandalized Rockstar’s GTA 6 Mural… And Fans Love It?9. vgtimes.com — Grand Theft Auto VI Mural in Brooklyn Defaced Less Than a Month After Completion10. gadgetreview.com — GTA VI's Brooklyn Mural Hit With Graffiti Tag Two Weeks Before Launch - Gadget Review
Will it be repaired?
Rockstar and Colossal haven't saidReported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch5. ZN VAULT — Someone Vandalized Rockstar’s GTA 6 Mural… And Fans Love It?9. vgtimes.com — Grand Theft Auto VI Mural in Brooklyn Defaced Less Than a Month After Completion10. gadgetreview.com — GTA VI's Brooklyn Mural Hit With Graffiti Tag Two Weeks Before Launch - Gadget Review
Any arrest?
No reports of a police report or arrestReported10. gadgetreview.com — GTA VI's Brooklyn Mural Hit With Graffiti Tag Two Weeks Before Launch - Gadget Review
The mural shows official GTA 6 artwork of Jason and LuciaReported1. creativebloq.com — The "ruined" GTA VI advert controversy is pretty ironic2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch4. Side Scrollers Bits — GTA 6 Just Had A Marketing Disaster5. ZN VAULT — Someone Vandalized Rockstar’s GTA 6 Mural… And Fans Love It?7. kotaku.com — Massive GTA 6 Mural Tagged By Graffiti Artist Overnight And People Aren’t Happy: ‘As A Graffiti Artist Myself, I Honestly Think This Is Pretty Disrespectful’and 3 more, holding guns against a backdrop of palm treesReported3. libertycity.net — GTA 6 Mural in Brooklyn Vandalized Less Than a Month After Completion11. rockstarintel.com — A GTA 6 Mural Is Being Painted In New York City12. notebookcheck.net — GTA 6: Huge New York mural nearly complete, artist shares details. It also has the Rockstar Games logo and the line "Plays Best on PS5"Reported3. libertycity.net — GTA 6 Mural in Brooklyn Vandalized Less Than a Month After Completion.
The tag is a large black-and-white "JELOUS" logo across the bottom of the wallReported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch3. libertycity.net — GTA 6 Mural in Brooklyn Vandalized Less Than a Month After Completion. It covers the lower part of the artwork, including Lucia's legsReported3. libertycity.net — GTA 6 Mural in Brooklyn Vandalized Less Than a Month After Completion9. vgtimes.com — Grand Theft Auto VI Mural in Brooklyn Defaced Less Than a Month After Completion. Most of the top half survived. Jason, the Rockstar logo and the Grand Theft Auto lettering are still visibleReported9. vgtimes.com — Grand Theft Auto VI Mural in Brooklyn Defaced Less Than a Month After Completion10. gadgetreview.com — GTA VI's Brooklyn Mural Hit With Graffiti Tag Two Weeks Before Launch - Gadget Review.
The same account also posted videos of the same logo painted at other spots around New York CityReported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch10. gadgetreview.com — GTA VI's Brooklyn Mural Hit With Graffiti Tag Two Weeks Before Launch - Gadget Review. Beebom was the outlet that linked the account to the muralReported10. gadgetreview.com — GTA VI's Brooklyn Mural Hit With Graffiti Tag Two Weeks Before Launch - Gadget Review.
Why the mural was a big deal
This wasn't a printed banner. Colossal Media's post used the hashtag #alwayshandpaint, because the whole thing was painted by hand. Fans came by to photograph it while it was being paintedReported1. creativebloq.com — The "ruined" GTA VI advert controversy is pretty ironic.
There's history behind it too. Colossal Media says Rockstar was its very first client, with a GTA San Andreas campaign in 2004. Rockstar also painted murals for GTA 4 and GTA 5Reported11. rockstarintel.com — A GTA 6 Mural Is Being Painted In New York City. This exact Williamsburg corner had a GTA 5 mural in 2013Reported12. notebookcheck.net — GTA 6: Huge New York mural nearly complete, artist shares details13. gtaboom.com — Colossal Media Confirms Hand-Painted GTA 6 Murals for Rockstar, 22 Years After GTA: San Andreas.
How fans reacted
Most people were angry. Many said the artist ruined the muralReported7. kotaku.com — Massive GTA 6 Mural Tagged By Graffiti Artist Overnight And People Aren’t Happy: ‘As A Graffiti Artist Myself, I Honestly Think This Is Pretty Disrespectful’, and the backlash in the comments got so bad that the artist turned comments offReported6. thegamer.com — Brooklyn's First GTA 6 Mural Has Been Vandalised After Less Than A Month. A Reddit user who said they were an Italian graffiti artist called it disrespectful, even by graffiti standardsReported7. kotaku.com — Massive GTA 6 Mural Tagged By Graffiti Artist Overnight And People Aren’t Happy: ‘As A Graffiti Artist Myself, I Honestly Think This Is Pretty Disrespectful’.
Not everyone agreed:
Some said the mural is just an advertisement, so it's fair game for taggingReported7. kotaku.com — Massive GTA 6 Mural Tagged By Graffiti Artist Overnight And People Aren’t Happy: ‘As A Graffiti Artist Myself, I Honestly Think This Is Pretty Disrespectful’.
Others said graffiti is part of New York street cultureReported9. vgtimes.com — Grand Theft Auto VI Mural in Brooklyn Defaced Less Than a Month After Completion.
Some pointed out that a GTA ad getting vandalized fits a game all about crimeReported1. creativebloq.com — The "ruined" GTA VI advert controversy is pretty ironic.
A few joked that Rockstar should put the tag in the gameReported1. creativebloq.com — The "ruined" GTA VI advert controversy is pretty ironic.
Either way, it worked out for Jelous. The tag became one of the account's most popular postsReported7. kotaku.com — Massive GTA 6 Mural Tagged By Graffiti Artist Overnight And People Aren’t Happy: ‘As A Graffiti Artist Myself, I Honestly Think This Is Pretty Disrespectful’.
Will Rockstar fix it?
Nobody knows yet. Neither Rockstar nor Colossal Media has said whether the mural will be restored or repaintedReported2. beebom.com — GTA 6 Jason and Lucia Mural in New York Vandalized Just Weeks Before Game Launch5. ZN VAULT — Someone Vandalized Rockstar’s GTA 6 Mural… And Fans Love It?9. vgtimes.com — Grand Theft Auto VI Mural in Brooklyn Defaced Less Than a Month After Completion10. gadgetreview.com — GTA VI's Brooklyn Mural Hit With Graffiti Tag Two Weeks Before Launch - Gadget Review.
The mural is one piece of a much bigger campaign. Rockstar has also run GTA 6 ads in London, Paris, Toronto, Tokyo and HamburgReported1. creativebloq.com — The "ruined" GTA VI advert controversy is pretty ironic5. ZN VAULT — Someone Vandalized Rockstar’s GTA 6 Mural… And Fans Love It?, and put a "Welcome to Vice City" sign on the Kaseya Center in MiamiReported14. Will Mac — A Lot Is Happening With GTA 6 Right Now.... Read more in our Miami Vice City sign story and our European ad campaign story.
Image: Rockstar Games
Image: Rockstar Games
Image: Rockstar Games