A popular mural dedicated to national treasure Dolly Parton in East Nashville was vandalized earlier this month.
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The colorful art, painted by Nashville artist Kim Radford, has been celebrated since it was unveiled on the lounge and music venue, the 5 Spot, back in 2020.
As the local paper The Tennessean points out, the mural also features a now-iconic (and in 2020, very timely) quote from Parton: “Of course Black Lives Matter. Do you think our little white asses are the only ones that matter?”
However, on Aug. 3, the beloved mural was vandalized with a thick, inky blob plopped dead center on Dolly’s grinning face.
Security footage captured the moment the vandal defaced the art, with the 5 Spot blasting on social media for help locating the individual. They were quickly found.
However, the 5 Spot seemed to grant the troubled vandal some mercy.
“It was not done out of hate or anger towards any person, building, lifestyle or anything,” the 5 Spot explained in a follow-up post. “He’s in a bad mental state.”
“The muralist will be back to clean it up,” the venue added.
Indeed, Radford did return just days later. The artist and the venue shared a joint post showcasing the restoration via a time-lapse video. After what seems to be a solid day’s work, Radford had the mural looking better than ever.
“Woke up early and accepted this challenge to restore my favorite mural. No more black blob!” Radford wrote alongside the post.