Big Brother contestant warned by east London graffiti group to stay away

A SELF-styled graffiti artist who is on TV show Big Brother has been warned he faces being painted from head to toe if he tries his hand in Hackney.

Sam Pepper, currently a housemate in Channel Four’s Big Brother programme, has been warned away from the “heart of street art” by an urban art collective who poured scorn on his ability and branded him a fake.

The group, calling themselves Team Eastside, wrote to the graffiti bible, London Street-Art Design (LSD) magazine, asking it to spread the word that Sam faces having his work defaced if he comes to east London.

Team Eastside said: “We are purists. We do not do it for money, we do it for love and art. So when we see someone on TV claiming to be a writer, it really p***** us off.

“No writer would have bog standard red roses painted on their chest like that unless it was an RIP piece and then that rip must be connected with love.

“We watched him do a graffiti task and his outlines were proper s*** and his character was at the level of a five-year-old.

“We can see events coming in the near future when that fake graffiti writer thinks he can come to east London and paint our walls.

“Can you lot post a warning on your blog because if that t*** comes to Brick Lane, Shoreditch or Hackney, we’re gonna paint over everything he does.

“If we catch him doing it, we’re not gonna hurt the boy – but we will paint him from head to toe.”

Wayne Anthony, editor of LSD, said: “I think the real point the lads are trying to make is that Hackney has long been the heart of street art graffiti in London which means anyone worth their paint will come here at some point.

“If Sam is a graffiti writer, then he already understands the code of the game and the fact all street work is temporary, whether it be an hour, a day, a week or month.

“Though as a side note if he does (come to Hackney) I wouldn’t bring a camera team with him.”

Sam could not be contacted by the Gazette because he is in the Big Brother house. It is the last series of the show.