West Hollywood couple behind Sarah Palin effigy run afoul of EBay

Yes, the noose is still included.

For those who already have the Obama hope poster, the McCain maverick button and the Joe the Plumber T-shirt, there is one more kitsch -– though more controversial -– item for the comprehensive 2008 presidential campaign collection: the Sarah Palin effigy that caused a bit of an uproar outside one West Hollywood home and prompted Keith Olbermann to name the homeowner “Worst Person in the World.”

Chad Michael Morrisette, a professional window-display designer, and his partner, Mito Aviles, put the Palin mannequin up for auction on EBay last week, complete with red coat, beehive wig, glasses -- and with a noose still hanging around its neck.

The auction was supposed to end Tuesday -– Inauguration Day. But on Sunday night, EBay took down the posting.

The site did not give any specific reason but referred the couple to its policy on offensive material, which says, "Sellers may not list items that promote or glorify hatred, violence, racial or religious intolerance, or items that promote organizations with such views."

"And I think they were putting it in that category because of the history of lynching,” Morrisette said. “We think it was the noose in the picture that they deemed as glorified hatred,” Aviles wrote in an e-mail.

The item was relisted with a new picture of the mannequin sans noose, though the hanging accessory will still be included with the purchase. Morrisette worried that having to relist the auction, which will now end on Wednesday, might have lost some of the initial interest in the item.

Before it was removed Sunday, the auction page had more than 900 views, and 40 people were keeping track of it, he said.

The mannequin, which is listed for a starting price of $1,000, already has one bid. It comes with a cardboard John McCain that is about 4 feet tall. Morrisette and Aviles are trying to capitalize on the controversy that surrounded the Palin effigy for several days in October. The auction page reads: “PLEASE NOTE: YOU ARE BIDDING ON THE FAMOUS SARAH PALIN HALLOWEEN DISPLAY MANNEQUIN. AS SEEN ON THE TODAY SHOW, INSIDE EDITION, THE VIEW, FOX NEWS, KEITH OLBERMAN, EVERY MAJOR NEWS NETWORK, AND READ ABOUT IN EVERY NEWSPAPER WORLDWIDE.”

-- Raja Abdulrahim

Photo: KTLA video

Comments

[Steven]

I love the house that puts these up. they are hilarious. They also put up a mormon angel mannequin (like the kind on the top of mormon temples) and recently, obama in a superman outfit.

best. house. ever.

[Sean k]

Terry: That was clearly the most illogical, pointless and childish post I've seen in a long time. You sound like a 14 year old. Also, spelling the word 'nihilistic' with an 'a' in it shows you've never read a book that wasn't Harry Potter or Steven King in your life.

[Foreigner]

Morrisette, what do you think if you are Palin's kids? How do you feel if I hang your mom like that? Whatever she did, you shouldn't do something like that. Even I feel that Palin isn't a right person to be America vice president, I still shock because of your action. What a shame for you to be American citizen who is grown up in America. From what I know, American is developed country and respect women. But for what you did, you are an ...

[Cheri Woods]

I am the owner of the famous West Hollywood apartment building, Cheri Amour, known to Doors fans nationwide as rock legend "Jim Morrison's last known U.S. residence."
My next door neighbor, a member of the West Hollywood gay and lesbian community known as "Daddy Don" for his "leather lounge (house of dominance)" expressed his apparent dislike for the opposite sex when he prominently displayed approximately a dozen nude female mannequins being lynched by ropes around their necks a couple years back, which were spread thoughout the front of his property, including the rooftop of his house. Since my minor daughter had to be subjected to this disrespectful display against women every time she left her apartment, I complained to the City of West Hollywood. Their response was that it was a "work of art" and would remain.
At the same time, I had hung a small plaque on the front of my building, which read "JIM MORRISON'S LAST U.S. HOME" which the City of West Hollywood cited me for and ordered me to remove.
If West Hollywood officials protested the Sarah Palin mannequin being lynched as the media reported, they sure are hypocrites. Unless of course, it's ok for women to be lynched- as long as your not running for a political office.
-Cheri Woods
Owner, Cheri Amour
EM: cheriwoods1@yahoo.com