A POLICE INVESTIGATION has been launched after a Florida statue based on the famous photograph of a US sailor kissing a woman to celebrate the ending of World War II was spray painted with the mantra “#MeToo”.

The incident occured yesterday morning, a day after the sailor featured in the photograph, George Mendonsa died aged 95. The woman in the photo is Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant in a nurse’s uniform.

The photo was taken in Times Square on 14 August 1945, which is known as V-J Day it was the day Japan surrendered to the United States.

Sarasota police received a report that the ‘Unconditional Surrender’ statue, located at an intersection in Sarasota, Florida had been vandalised at 12.53am.

When officers arrived, they found the words #MeToo spray-painted in red along the left leg of the nurse. The red lettering covered the length of the nurse’s leg.

A search was conducted in the area to locate spray paint bottles, but none were found. During the canvass, no other objects were observed to be defaced or spray painted.

There was no available surveillance video in the area that captured the incident, and there are no known witnesses, police said.

It’s believed the incident occurred on Monday between the mid-afternoon and evening.

Repairing the damage is estimated to cost more than $1,000 due to the large area that the graffiti covered, and the resources needed to repair it.