A billionaire’s son and his graffiti-scarred mansions roil Hollywood Hills residents

With its shattered windows and cartoonish graffiti, the mansion on Mulholland Drive sits like a gaping wound in the Hollywood Hills.

Broken glass spills out onto the narrow hillside road where tourist buses and others slow down to gawk at the mansion that sits like a colorful disaster.

“We’ve become known for the graffiti mansion,” a neighbor said, who asked for anonymity over privacy concerns. “It’s so embarrassing to have this in the heart of the Hollywood Hills.”

The owner of the mansion issued a formal apology Thursday to his neighbors and the city of Los Angeles after The Times contacted his attorney about the neighbors’ complaints. The Mulholland Drive home is one of two homes owned by 40-year-old TV and film producer John Powers Middleton.

“What’s happened to the two properties I own is unacceptable, and no matter what caused it, I own the houses,” Middleton said in his first statement since his homes gained national attention. “Given the persistence of the numerous trespassers, it’s a struggle.”

He explained that his private security and property managers at his properties were overwhelmed by trespassers and vandals. In recent weeks, vandals descended on the Hollywood Hills to leave their mark with fresh taggings on the mansions, much to the dismay of his neighbors.

The home has been sitting empty for years, according to neighbors, and seems to have been abandoned. Occasionally, the mansion shows signs of life, albeit not the kind the neighbors would like to see, as strangers camp out in the husk of the nearly 9,000 square foot structure.

Neighbors are baffled by the deteriorating mansion’s fate.

“It’s just insane,” says a woman who has lived in the neighborhood since 2008. “There was once a gorgeous home there. I mean, who does that? Who walks away from a $10-million house like that and just lets it go to squatters?”

It’s unclear why Middleton, the son of a billionaire industrialist, allowed the mansion to deteriorate for so long. The situation is highly unusual, in part because the house sits in one of Los Angeles’ most affluent neighborhoods, nestled among Hollywood stars and jetliner views.

Nearly 20 years ago, R&B singer Mary J. Blige leased and lived in the Mulholland Drive mansion, and around the same time Sean “Diddy” Combs recorded a music video there.

The video prominently features the mansion’s waterfall, 50-foot swimming pool and spiral staircase.

The Department of Building and Safety did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the property.

On Tuesday, a crew of workers unloaded stacks of plywood to board up the windows, and they erected a new chain link fence around the property. Workers painted over graffiti as a pair of LAPD officers watched from a nearby cruiser.

But neighbors are skeptical this will solve the problem.

They said the situation grew into a frenzy in recent weeks, with more people making the trek to the site as the house went viral online.

“When there’s a house that has been publicized as a free-for-all, you get people swarming the area and it’s creepy,” one neighbor said.

A man believed to be camping in the mansion attacked an elderly woman with a metal bar last year, according to residents.

On Wednesday, LAPD officers patrolling the area were flagged down by residents who said they saw two people get out of a white Mercedes-Benz and spray paint the mansion. Police arrested Jacob Smith, 35, and Thomia Fagan, 19, on suspicion of breaking onto the property and possessing a firearm in a vehicle, the LAPD announced in a news release. Police found several spray paint cans and a loaded, unregistered gun in a purse.

Property taxes have not been paid on the Mulholland home since 2022, according to the county assessor’s office, and neighbors said that upkeep on the property appears to have declined in recent years.

Two years ago, neighbors complained to the city about trespassers and the seemingly abandoned property, Councilwoman Nithya Raman said. In response, an abatement order was issued by the Department of Building and Safety. Then a fence was erected around the property after the owner did not respond to the city’s order, and in 2023 a lien was placed on the home to cover the expenses for the work.

It’s unclear how long the mansion has been sitting, waiting for its owner to return.

Property records show the home was last purchased in June 2012 for a reported $4.7 million. Middleton is listed as the owner. His film credits as an executive producer include the movies “Death Note,” “Nimona” and “Good Boys.”

Neighbors say they haven’t had much contact with Middleton in the neighborhood, so they have taken to commenting on his Instagram photos, asking him to do something. He has replied, tersely, that he’s received their messages.

Middleton apologized to the city and his neighbors in a statement provided by a spokesperson Thursday, saying his private security and property managers at the homes were overwhelmed by trespassers and vandals.

“We have caught or thwarted numerous break-in attempts, including graffiti trespassers at both houses,” Middleton said in his statement. “But the attackers, especially the squatters, have been relentless, and our security people were overwhelmed.”

The Mulholland Drive home is the second mansion Middleton has apparently purchased in the Hollywood Hills and left vacant, according to property records and the LAPD. Two miles away from the Mulholland Drive home is Middleton’s second mansion — a four-story home on Sunset Plaza Drive — which is also covered with graffiti and a magnet for trespassers, according to neighbors. The property was purchased for nearly $7 million in March 2013, according to county property records.

The Los Angeles Police Department records show that officers responded to the Sunset Plaza Drive home 17 times this year, including calls for possible burglars, prowlers and vandalism.

Along with his film credits, Middleton comes from a storied tobacco dynasty. His family’s company, John Middleton, popularized rolling pipe tobacco into cigars. The company launched the Black & Mild cigar in the 1980s, and his father, John S. Middleton, sold the business to Philip Morris’ parent company in 2007 for $2.9 billion, according to Forbes. The elder Middleton is also the CEO and co-owner of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Following the negative publicity surrounding the derelict Los Angeles mansions, the Phillies organization issued a statement to clarify that their team has nothing to do with the homes.

“The California properties are owned by John Powers Middleton,” the team’s statement said. “No other members of the Middleton family have ownership, investment, control or involvement in these properties.”

On Wednesday, Middleton’s attorney notified Raman’s office that his client would secure the properties, clean them and pay for all costs incurred by the city.

“We are looking forward to holding him accountable to secure those properties,” Raman said.

This marks the first time that a representative for Middleton has contacted Raman’s office, she said. Because his homes have already drawn the ire of his neighbors, the councilwoman promised that the city will be proactive in addressing the issue.

“We’re not going to wait for him if this becomes another security breach,” Raman said. “I just want to reassure my constituents that we are very, very conscious of how important it is to keep these two properties safe.”

Through his spokesperson, Middleton said he plans to secure and repair the homes “with the intent to sell each as soon as possible.”

“What’s happened to my property is criminal and I hope everyone caught will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” he said. “No one in Los Angeles should have to put up with squatters and vandalism that are out of control.”

Before his property woes, Middleton was involved in another dispute in Hollywood. In 2019, he sued his former business partner, Roy Lee — whose credits include such hits as “Barbarian,” “The Lego Movie” and “The Departed” — accusing Lee of fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and unfair competition.

In his lawsuit, Middleton claimed that he was taken advantage of by the industry and Lee. He was asked to pay half of all overhead at Lee’s production company in return for a fee and executive producing credits. He felt that his name was unjustly removed from several movie projects by Lee. In a countersuit, Lee claimed that Middleton’s drinking and behavior harmed his production company.

That dispute is ongoing. But it spawned a second legal fight, pitting Middleton against the crisis PR firm he hired in connection with the dispute, Sitrick & Co. In an arbitration filing, lawyers for Sitrick said Middleton wanted to preempt a story in the Hollywood Reporter about the feud between Middleton and Lee, and asked the public relations firm to contact a tabloid so a more flattering version of the story could be published.

But Middleton was upset when the New York Post story was published and told the PR firm it was “[w]orse than my wildest dreams” and “[w]e just got all the dirty laundry out to EVERYONE instead of just the industry,” according to court documents.

The Hollywood Reporter story was published June 24, 2020, and the Sitrick firm, along with Middleton’s attorney, were pleased with the story’s tone, according to court filings.

But Middleton refused to pay the firm’s bill. The case went to arbitration and an arbitrator found in favor of the PR firm.

In July, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Middleton owed Sitrick and Co. $1.4 million for unpaid crisis management services, interest on those services and other fees.

Sitrick and Co. founder Michael Sitrick told The Times, “We just hope that he pays us what he owes us.”