Parents taking their kids for a hotdog at Carney’s on Sunset Boulevard should be prepared to conduct a little sexual education while munching on the hot dogs and burgers. Looming over the east side of the yellow Union Pacific rail car at 8351 W. Sunset Blvd. that houses the famous restaurant is a billboard marketing PornHub, a website that markets itself as offering the best hardcore porn videos.
It’s not just the PornHub logo that disturbs Carney’s owner John Wolfe. There’s also the slogan “All You Need Is Hand” and an image of two hands curled in a manner suggesting both love (a heart) and sexual self-satisfaction.
“I can’t believe they allowed that thing to go up,” Wolfe told WEHOville. “I have a lot of kids coming in here, and they’re going to be asking their parents ‘What’s that about?’ That’s wrong.”
“There are places you could put that, like Las Vegas,” Wolfe said. “But not next door to a family restaurant.”
On the other hand, Wolfe noted, “fortunately most kids don’t look at billboards. They’re always staring at their cellphones.”
Wolfe told WEHOville that he intends to call Brian Kennedy of Regency Outdoor Advertising, owner of the billboard, to protest. Kennedy, however, told WEHOville he was unaware of the billboard’s content. Kennedy said he doesn’t see all billboard content before it goes up. But he said that he would take a look at this one. The City of West Hollywood, which has received calls about the billboard, has no control over what is on billboards. Last year, Van Wagnerxxx , another billboard owner, took down a racy sign promoting CougarLife, a website devoted to linking older women with younger men, after Roxy owner Nic Adler tweeted his objection. “What idiot put this up outside my office? @westhollywood please do something!!! Shame on you Van Wagner !!” @NicAdler tweeted to his 57,000 followers.
Until Kennedy takes a look at the PornHub sign, parents need to be prepared to talk about self-stimulation and to reassure themselves, and their kids, that it really doesn’t cause hair to grow on ones palms.
PS. who uses a heart shape… honestly
The hot dogs and burgers are more dangerous to the kids than this billboard.
If there is a line to be drawn,…what do we use to draw it?
(For example, I personally agree with brown bags. There’s a line.)
I don’t see how this is news because , I don’t need a racy billboard for pornography and self satisfaction to find its way into my life! Now I am NOT expecting that even West Hollywood to come out in support of me on this one but, why not call attention to this distraction by creating one of my own? This whole racy billboard issue is simple an example of whatNoam Chomsky calls a strategy of distraction. The primary element of social control is the strategy of distraction which is to divert public attention from important issues and changes determined… Read more »
The Carney’s owner’s objection is understandable, but ridiculous. You’re on the Sunset Strip, home of a tremendous amount of debauchery. You want to open up a family restaurant with no illicit distractions? Move to Larchmont.
oh boy. clearly you do not have kids, kayaytche.
I think this is a joke. First of all, masturbation is not wrong, and kids asking their parents about masturbation is not wrong. Second, any kid who is walking along Sunset Blvd. to get Carneys is already going to know what porn is and what masturbation is. Third, Carneys is hardly a family restaurant. It’s an awesome promotion.
I personally don’t have any issue with it, but my question is, where do we draw the line? Anti-gay, abortion, tampons, graphic images, sick video games, religious intolerance; the list goes on and really. Kids will likely see a hand making the heart sign, something they recognize. If we weren’t such a backward country when it comes to sexuality, this wouldn’t even be an issue.