A charity shop has installed a new mural in the spot where a notorious tagger sprayed a homophobic slogan which could land him a prison sentence.
Johnny Crew is due to be sentenced next week for spraying “Fuck Islam and LGBTQ+” on the wall of the Sussex Beacon in St James’s Street on 9 September.
The same night, he filmed himself spraying the same words on the wall of the YMCA in Old Steine and posted the clip on his Instagram page. He also tagged police property in New Road.
This week, the Sussex Beacon unveiled a mural of Elton John by local art collective The Postman, facing an existing artwork featuring Freddie Mercury.
The charity’s chief executive Rachel Brett said “The vandalism at our St James’s Street shop only strengthened our resolve to expand The Sussex Beacon’s services.
“We remain fully committed to developing a dedicated hospice for LGBTQ+ people, while continuing to provide specialist HIV care.
“We hope the murals of Freddie Mercury and Sir Elton John, two icons renowned for standing against stigma and inequality, will inspire everyone who visits our shop and the wider community beyond.”
Johnny Crew, whose real name is John McMillan, admitted three counts of criminal damage and three counts of religiously aggravated criminal damage at Brighton Magistrates Court on 10 October.
He is due to return to the same court on 19 December for sentencing.
He became well known in Brighton for spraying his CREW tag across the city. In 2023, he was given a conditional caution in return for joining the council’s street cleaning crew for three sessions.
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