Shocking truth behind Sydney Sweeney’s Hollywood sign prank, amidst possible criminal charges

Sydney Sweeney is back being jarring again, this time covering the iconic Hollywood sign in bras as part of guerrilla marketing for her new lingerie brand.

If there’s one thing Sydney Sweeney knows how to do, it’s make people scratch their heads in confusion. From *that* American Eagle ad to the even worse explanation, at least she’s consistent.

On Monday, January 26, news broke that Sydney Sweeney had climbed the H of the Hollywood sign to cover the landmark in lingerie from her new brand. Footage was obtained by TMZ, but Sydney also posted some to her Instagram.

In the video, which has since amassed 133k likes, Sydney and her group were all dressed in black as they scaled the mountainside. It was very Mission Impossible; throwing black duffel bags in the van, linking bras together in a chain, and scurrying up to the sign in the dead of night.

“I’m going to get caught at this rate,” Sydney said to the camera.

The stunt was a marketing strategy for Sydney Sweeney’s upcoming lingerie brand, SYRN. We’re yet to see any actual merch from it, but it’s financially backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos.

John Salangsang/Shutterstock

Some people think Sydney Sweeney faked the stunt for her lingerie brand

Now, here’s where things get messy.

Most of the internet understands that it was a publicity stunt, but some believe it was deliberately set up to look criminal when it was actually above board.

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On Twitter, streamer Jakey shared his own experiences with publicity stunts at the Hollywood sign. You see, there are motion sensors everywhere, and as soon as they’re tripped, alarms blare out. He shared footage from his own stunt to prove that, suggesting that Sydney’s stunt was approved through official channels. In a stream, he further revealed that helicopters are deployed the moment the alarm goes off.

“Sydney Sweeney faked it. The alarms go off within 2 mins of tripping those censors,” he wrote on Twitter. “We changed the Hollywood sign 4 months ago. Here is some raw footage.”

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A post shared by Sydney Sweeney (@sydney_sweeney)

Officials have issued a statement, and she could face charges

TMZ spoke to a number of people about Sydney Sweeney’s Hollywood prank for her lingerie brand. They revealed that Sydney’s team had acquired a permit from FilmLA to shoot the Hollywood Sign, but not touch the sign itself.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which actually owns the Hollywood sign, said in an email: “It has come to our attention that you and crew filmed the Hollywood Sign last night for a production connected with Persuasion Pictures. Please be advised that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce owns the intellectual property rights to use of the image of the Hollywood Sign and neither you nor the production company have sought or received permission to use the images captured for any commercial use.

Sydney Sweeney faked it.

The alarms go off within 2 mins of tripping those censors.

We changed the hollywood sign 4 months ago, here is some raw footage https://t.co/YbFUBGD7rR pic.twitter.com/TMKJHqFbRu

— Jakey (@SolJakey) January 26, 2026

“We understand that you received a film permit from FilmLA, whose staff assures me that you were notified of the requirements to seek a license from the Chamber prior to your shoot. Please contact me so that we can discuss this and work to reach an agreement on your proposed use of our IP.”

Though the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce told the outlet that “there was no permission granted to do this as is required”, they refused to comment on whether they would be seeking criminal charges.

Sydney Sweeney has been approached for comment.

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Featured image credit: John Salangsang/Shutterstock and Sydney Sweeney/Instagram