War broke out in Manhattan Beach, Calif., early this month when one resident opted to repaint her duplex.
Amidst a sea of tans, whites, and grays, the two-level house on 39th Street stands out in vivid pink—complete with two massive, mocking emojis.
On the second story, a smiley face has been drawn with comically large eyelashes, googly eyes, and lolling tongue. Below it sits the “shut up” icon, featuring the same cross-eyed look and pronounced lashes, but with a zipper for lips.
Homeowner Kathryn Kidd calls the property “my happy house,” and told Easy Reader News that she wanted to add a little cheer to the neighborhood.
The locals, meanwhile, call it retribution.
Kidd reportedly purchased the property as a rental last year. After initially housing long-term rentals in both units, she decided to shift to short-term lettings—which were made illegal in Manhattan Beach four years ago.
Tipped off by residents, a city inspector in May fined Kidd $4,000.
“I did a four-day short-term rental and got fined $4,000,” she said. “Now I only do long-term rentals. I didn’t realize it was illegal.”
The dispute didn’t end there, though.
Emoji House, as seen from Susan Wieland’s balcony (via JP Cordero/Easy Reader News)
Susan Wieland, the neighbor who reported Kidd, believes the emoji art—drawn, Easy Reader News said, as if to look directly at Wieland’s house—is a targeted attack on her.
Before leaving for a work trip in June, Wieland had eyelash extensions put on. When she returned home from her travels, the new paint job was staring her in the long-lashed face.
“My heart sank. What has this come to?” she said. “It just took my breath away.”
Wieland pulled down the shades in her house that night, and has not opened them since.
“I can’t look outside,” she continued. “I feel like I’m being bullied, frankly, by her. That word keeps coming up to me: she’s a bully, and she feels she is entitled. She just wants to make things uncomfortable for us.”
“The artist is kind of a friend of mine,” Kidd said of Z the Art, who posted a photo of the painted house on Instagram in May, with the hashtags #TheEmojiHouse and #eyelashextensions.
“Instead of everybody being so gloomy, always so depressed, always in other people’s business, I just wanted to send a message to be happy, be colorful, be positive, and enjoy,” she said.
Any resemblance to Wieland, Kidd claims, was unintentional.
“I’m not trying to offend anybody,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “I did it for the purpose of being happy, being positive, and I think it’s cute and quirky and kind of funny, and certainly was a time for the emoji.”
Kidd resides elsewhere in Manhattan Beach (and therefore does not have to see the bright pink building on a daily basis).
Frustrated homeowners and renters in the El Porto neighborhood have explored ways to get the illustrations removed.
Long-time local Dina Doll argues that it is a public safety issue and obvious nuisance—news vans and curious onlookers have been crowding the narrow road for weeks.
“I believe generally people should be able to do what they want with their property within the guidelines of the city, without governmental interference, including painting their exterior,” resident Chris Strickfaden said in a statement to the Times.
“However, this situation is not about the right of the homeowner,” they continued. “It’s about one homeowner saying F-U to the person she blames for her plight and F-U to the rest of the street.”
More on Geek.com:
- This Twitter Bot Mashes Up Emoji To Create Fresh Faces
- Celebrate World Emoji Day With Diverse New Characters
- Number of Emoji References in U.S. Court Cases Growing ‘Exponentially’
