A protester who tried to vandalize Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa with a cake managed to get close to the painting by posing as a wheelchair user dressed as an elderly woman.
In videos posted on social media that captured the consequences, an individual can be seen being escorted out of the building dressed in white, wearing a wig and a baseball cap, along with an empty wheelchair.
“Think of the Earth. There are people who are in the process of destroying the Earth. Think of them!” the man told viewers in French, suggesting the acrobatics were motivated by climate activism. “Artists should think about the Earth! All artists think about the Earth. That’s why I did it.”
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, a museum spokesman confirmed that the incident took place on Sunday after the museum had implemented what it calls its “usual procedures” for people with disabilities.
Because they believed that the aggressor had reduced mobility, he was allowed to be closer to the work of art.
According to Reuters, the alleged climate activist jumped out of a wheelchair and tried to break the glass that protected the famous painting.
After the failed attempt, he smeared the cake on the cover of the painting and allegedly threw roses on the ground before being caught by security guards.
“This individual threw himself at the window of the Mona Lisa, a pastry shop that he had hidden for his personal belongings,” the statement said, adding that the painting itself was not damaged.