Is the story true about Arnold Schwarzenegger sleeping on the street under his bronze statue?

For several years, a story has been circulating on the Internet according to which the actor once demonstratively went to bed at the entrance to the hotel that he opened during his tenure as governor of California. We checked whether everything was really like that.

In 2003, Schwarzenegger was elected for the post of governor of California from the Republican Party and served in this position for eight years. If you believe viral posts, at that time the politician opened a certain hotel, where a few years later the actor staged a kind of solo protest. On social networks, the story is often titled with the words “Nothing lasts forever” and retold as follows:

“Famous actor Arnold Schwarzenegger posted a photo of himself sleeping on the street under his bronze statue and sadly wrote: “How times have changed.” When Arnold was governor of California, he personally opened this hotel. Then the hotel management told Arnold: “You can come and take the room reserved for you at any time.” When Arnold left the post of governor and came to the hotel, the administration refused to give him a room, demanding payment, since their hotel was in great demand. He brought a sleeping bag and slept under the statue, explaining that he wanted to convey to people the following: “When I was in an important position, they always praised me. When I lost this position, they forgot about me and did not fulfill their promises. Do not trust your positions or the amount of money, nor your strength, nor your intelligence - nothing lasts forever.”

This story was widely circulated on VKontakte. For example, since 2019, the Dawkins public has posted 14 similar posts, which totaled 765,000 views and over 21,000 likes. In total, there are several thousand similar posts on VKontakte; some of them appeared in May 2024, and among the most viral are public posts “Forbidden History"(206,000 views), "Cult of will | Self-development"(154,000), "Fedor Emelianenko - all about the fighter and martial arts" (129,000) and "Healthy lifestyle+ | Home workout program"(126,000). According to the TGStat service, Telegram contains more than a hundred similar publications (examples here, here, here And here), this story can also be found on the social network X (here And here), V "Odnoklassniki", on "Pikabu" (here And here) And YouTube.

Using reverse image search in the service TinEye you can find out that the photo that later went viral is Schwarzenegger published on his social networks as early as January 15, 2016. In the photo, the actor actually appears to be dozing in a sleeping bag on the street under a statue with the inscription “Arnold.” The caption on the actor's post reads: "How times have changed." However, the former governor did not write anything about the hotel’s broken promise to provide him with a free room.

In the summer of 2015 it became knownthat Schwarzenegger will play in the film under the working title “478” (the film was eventually released as “Consequences"). The actor played the role of the main character, whose wife and daughter died in a plane crash. The plot is partly based on real life history about the collision of two planes over Lake Constance and the case of Russian Vitaly Kaloev, who lost his family in the crash and subsequently killed a Swiss air traffic controller. Filming the tape passed in the American city of Columbus and lasted from the middle December 2015 to second half January 2016. In an interview with a local television station, Columbus Motion Picture Association executive director John Dougherty toldthat Schwarzenegger personally chose the capital of Ohio because he loves it and has been there many times, but has never filmed a movie there.

In Columbus located A 2.5-meter bronze statue of Schwarzenegger depicting the actor at the peak of his bodybuilding career. Originally a sculpture installed in the spring of 2012 on the lawn of the Franklin County Veterans Memorial (using Google Street View, the monument can still be seen on that place).

However, the statue was then moved due to the demolition of Veterans Memorial Hall - it was rebuilt installed at one of the entrances to the Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC) in the fall of 2014. Schwarzenegger attended both opening ceremonies in person, and in both cases he was no longer governor of California.

The GCCC Conference Center was open expanded twice in 1993 and in subsequent years: for the first time in late 90s, and then in 2017. Complex of buildings of the center connected aboveground transitions with several hotel buildings, but Schwarzenegger did not open them. Both the current and past locations of the statue are associated with the actor for a different reason.

In 1970, sports promoter Jim Lorimer invited young Schwarzenegger to Columbus to participate in the Mr. World competition, which carried out Amateur Athletic Union organization. The competition took place in the Veterans Memorial Hall, where the future performer of the role of the Terminator took first place among professionals in the “High” category. By recognition the athlete himself, then the most important event in his life happened, since it was the first bodybuilding competition in which he defeated an important competitor - Sergio Oliva. Schwarzenegger promised one day return to Columbus to develop bodybuilding there with Lorimer. Subsequently, with their support the city has been chosen six times to host the Mr. Olympia competition (Mr. Olympia), and in 1989 they founded the multi-sport event Arnold Sports Festival, now held annually at the GCCC.

Thus, the story of Schwarzenegger sleeping under his statue at the hotel entrance is almost entirely fictional. Apparently, the actor took a humorous photo during the filming of the film and posted it on his social networks, and then the publication began to become overgrown with false details and quotes. In fact, Schwarzenegger lay down under a statue near the convention center where the annual sports festival he organizes takes place. “Verified” was unable to establish who and when supplied the photograph with the story about the deception of the hotel employees.

Cover photo: @Schwarzenegger (X)

Mostly not true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Snopes. Was Arnold Schwarzenegger Forced to Sleep Outside a Hotel He Had Helped Open?
2. Is it true that Arnold Schwarzenegger wore a T-shirt with a picture of Crimea and the words “I'll be back”?
3. Is it true that Arnold Schwarzenegger gave Greta Thunberg a Tesla 3?
4. The fictional world of Gek publics (VMGP)