Schwarzenegger sleeping bag photo was a joke, he was not turned away from a hotel

A viral photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger tells a sob story about the actor-turned-governor. But in reality, the photo was a joke, and it was debunked years ago.

The photo posted on Facebook on April 14, 2022, shows Schwarzenegger wrapped in a sleeping bag, lying on the ground in front of a bronze statue of himself. The caption says Schwarzenegger had been turned away from a hotel because it was full.

"So he brought a blanket... and fell asleep under the statue... and asked people to take pictures of it…," the caption says. "Arnold wanted to send an important message.. that when he was in power and had a position.. everyone praised him and the hypocrites.. and when he lost this position, they forgot him and did not fulfill their promise to him."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

The photo was a joke, media outlets reported at the time it was taken, in 2016.

Schwarzenegger posted the photo on his Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts on Jan. 15, 2016. He captioned it, "How times have changed."

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People magazine’s headline the same day read, "Arnold Schwarzenegger posts funny photo of himself ... next to a statue of himself." The story also said the photo is "bound to make you chuckle."

Similarly, E! News reported at the time that Schwarzenegger "poked a little fun at himself."

The claim was previously debunked in 2019 and 2021.

The statue where the photo was taken is in front of the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio, site of the annual Arnold Sports Festival that is named after Schwarzenegger.

At the time of the photo, Schwarzenegger was in Columbus for a movie he was filming, "478," according to People.

Schwarzenegger did not sleep on the ground in front of a bronze statue of himself because he had been turned away from a hotel. We rate the claim False.