Paul Hogan is continuing to deny writing a sign warning homeless people in his crime-stricken LA neighbourhood to stay away from his $3.5million mansion.
The Crocodile Dundee star now insists he didn’t write the note saying ‘THIS IS MY HOUSE NOT YOURS’ and claims he was pictured carrying a red marker pen near the sign because he was in fact leaving instructions for an electrician.
Hogan, 81, told Channel Seven’s The Morning Show via a representative he was writing his house number on a pole so the electrician would know which gate to enter the property from.
‘I did not leave the note’: Paul Hogan is continuing to deny writing a sign warning homeless people in his crime-stricken LA neighbourhood to stay away from his $3.5million mansion
‘I did not leave a note outside my house in Venice Beach aimed at the homeless or anyone else,’ the Australia actor said in his statement, as reported by entertainment journalist Peter Ford.
‘After writing the number, I noticed the before-mentioned note on the pole, thought it was odd and moved on. I didn’t write it. I didn’t place it there. I didn’t understand it.’
Hogan continued: ‘I have great empathy of the homeless and have never had any issues with the vulnerable people near my house and assist them where possible, so to have false reports that I would disrespect anyone, let alone our most vulnerable in such a way, is appalling and completely false reporting.’
Explanation: In a statement to the Morning Show, The Crocodile Dundee star claimed he was writing his house number on a pole so his electrician would know which gate to enter the property from
Hogan, who has lived in the U.S. for the past 16 years, had earlier denied writing the sign, telling TMZ on Wednesday: ‘It wasn’t me who put [the note] up.’
He said he ‘doesn’t know why’ somebody pinned the sign to the house his is renting.
Hogan went on to discuss the homeless situation in LA, saying: ‘I just find it sad.’
‘I have great empathy of the homeless and have never had any issues with the vulnerable people near by house and assist them where possible so to have false reports that I would disrespect anyone, let alone our most vulnerable in such a way is appalling and completely false reporting,’ he said
‘California has the fifth biggest economy in the world and we’ve got more homeless people than Bangladesh. I find it awful and embarrassing. I wish I could do something about it,’ he said.
The Flipper star added that he understands why so many homeless people camp in Venice rather than other cities in America.
‘I tell you what, if I was homeless and lived in New York, I couldn’t wait to get to Venice Beach… can’t blame them for that,’ he remarked.
When asked if his family was doing well, Hogan bizarrely said: ‘No problem. I’m happy in my mega-mansion.’
‘It wasn’t me’: It comes after Hogan denied writing the sign warning homeless people to stay away from his mansion
A masked Hogan had seemingly sent a stern warning to the less fortunate on Sunday when a note appeared on his property that said: ‘THIS IS MY HOUSE NOT YOURS.’
He lives in the once-desirable beachside suburb of Venice, where crime and homelessness have spiked in recent months during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Later that day, Hogan left the residence – which locals have described as a ‘fortress’ – to pick up his 22-year-old son, Chance, who also lives with him.
Crisis: The actor lives in the once-elite beachside suburb of Venice, where a sudden increase in homelessness has resulted in a terrifying crime wave
The world-famous beach community of Venice, 16 miles from downtown Los Angeles, has traditionally been a major tourism drawcard for the Californian city; however, now the palm trees and promenade are blighted by hundreds of tents.
Hogan and Chance have been stuck inside the mansion for months amid the recent wave of crime and homelessness in the area.
Los Angeles has been ravaged by its homeless crisis, with the number of homeless people rising steadily from around 40,000 in 2011, to around 66,000 at the latest count in January 2020.
Residents around the famed Venice boardwalk are demanding action from the authorities saying it has been turned into a large, ‘dangerous’ homeless encampment and has been hit by a spate of violent incidents.
On April 28, a man survived a shooting and recently there was a fire inside one of the encampments dotting Ocean Front Walk.
Local residents have been upset over the recent incidents, which have happened amid the expansion of local encampments.
Concerns: Residents around the famed Venice boardwalk are demanding action from the authorities saying it has been turned into a large, ‘dangerous’ homeless encampment and has been hit by a spate of violent incidents
‘Where Paul lives in hell on earth,’ Hogan’s neighbour Tyler Proctor, a local politician, recently told Woman’s Day magazine.
‘His house is like a fortress and it needs to be. I can see why [he] wants to move out,’ Mr Proctor added.
Local Kevin Buttress, 32, who owns the Xquisite Barber Lounge in LA, told Fox News he was attacked in November by a pit bull owned by a homeless person and was knocked out with a skateboard.
‘I’ve given a lot of myself to the community of Venice Beach,’ said Buttress. ‘And to see everything just fall to pieces, it’s messed up.’
During the Covid-19 pandemic, around 200 tents have been erected on the boardwalk according to local residents.
‘Venice’s world famous beach and boardwalk are crippled,’ hundreds of locals said in a letter pleading for help from city and county officials.
‘Local children are refusing to come to the beach because they’re frightened by what they’ve witnessed. Seniors who live on or near the boardwalk are terrified of walking in their own neighborhoods.’
Homesick: Hogan moved to the United States permanently in 2005, after growing up in Granville in Sydney’s western suburbs. He wants to return to Australia to escape Los Angeles, but has said he couldn’t possibly survive two weeks of hotel quarantine
Hogan moved to the United States permanently in 2005, after growing up in Granville in Sydney’s western suburbs.
He wants to return to Australia to escape Los Angeles, but has said he couldn’t possibly survive two weeks of hotel quarantine.
‘I can’t wait for this stupid disease to go away so I can get out,’ Hogan revealed on the News Corp podcast Evenin’ Viewers in October.
‘I’m like a kangaroo in a Russian zoo – I don’t belong here.’
‘Desperate’: During an interview with Sunrise last week, a glum-looking Paul spoke about his miserable life in crime-ravaged LA during the coronavirus pandemic
During an interview with Sunrise last week, a glum-looking Hogan spoke about his miserable life in crime-ravaged LA during the coronavirus pandemic.
He revealed he was ‘desperate’ to return to Australia and leave his life in America behind.
‘I am desperately homesick,’ he said during a video chat from his home.
According to figures from the Los Angeles Police Department provided to the Venice Neighbourhood Council, the violent robberies in the neighbourhood are up 177 per cent from last year.
The same period has also seen a 162 per cent increase in cases of assault with a deadly weapon involving a homeless person.
When asked how he was coping with Los Angeles’ recent crime wave, Hogan simply said he ‘doesn’t go anywhere’.
‘[I’m] bored in lockdown, and the minute I can get on the plane without being locked in a hotel for two weeks, I’m back,’ he said.
However, he failed to win any sympathy from Australians when he told Sunrise hosts David ‘Kochie’ Koch and Natalie Barr he ‘wouldn’t survive’ hotel quarantine.
‘My son [Chance] would have to be with me… we’d strangle each other,’ he said.