Local street artist Winston Tseng confirmed in a statement that he created the artwork calling Vice President Kamala Harris the "official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles," but he claims to not know who put the artwork on Philly bus stops.
Tseng shared a statement he gave to the press on Instagram on Thursday in response to "wild conspiracy theories." The artist claimed responsibility for the artwork while explaining his intention behind it.
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"My work uses brands and advertising to communicate societal issues," Tseng wrote. The official title of the piece is "Political Endorsement," and Tseng cited real examples of ads with phrases like "official beer" and "official accounting firm of the Philadelphia Eagles."
Speaking on political endorsements specifically, Tseng questioned "why the f--k do we care who Hulk Hogan or some corporation endorses," while calling his satirical artwork a "reflection of our times."
The statement ends with a reminder to register to vote and a standard Philly "Go Birds!" exclamation, jokingly signing the statement as the "Official Artist of the Philadelphia Eagles."
Posters displaying Tseng's artwork emerged mysteriously in early September, and Tseng maintains that he doesn't know "how it ended up at bus stops in Philadelphia."
The Philadelphia Eagles quickly denied any responsibility for the posters, calling them "counterfeit political ads" and working with advertisement partners to quickly take them down.
In terms of significant celebrity endorsements in the presidential election, pop superstar and Berks County native Taylor Swift announced that she would vote for Harris, which has spurred discourse about the impact of celebrity endorsements and led to a surge of voter registration website visits.
"For my safety, please note this (artwork) was before Swift endorsed Harris," Tseng wrote in an Instagram comment.