Editor's note: This story has been corrected to say the Sarasota statue is based on a photograph by Victor Jorgensen.

The "kissing sailor" statue in Sarasota was spray painted with the phrase #MeToo, according to the Sarasota Police Department.

According to a department tweet posted at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, police were dispatched to the location of the statue — at North Gulfstream Avenue and Bayfront Drive — around 12:53 a.m. Tuesday for a report of a person vandalizing the statue, called "Unconditional Surrender." When officers arrived, they saw the words #MeToo painted on the leg left of the woman.

There are no surveillance cameras in the area, according to police, and there are no witnesses. Damage is estimated at more than $1,000.

The Public Works Department had the graffiti removed by 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The statue, which sculptor Seaward Johnson based on a lesser-known photograph by Victor Jorgensen called "Kissing the War Goodbye" taken from a different angle, portrays a sailor grabbing and kissing a stranger — a female dental student in a white dress — on V-J Day in New York City's Times Square on Aug. 14, 1945, to celebrate the U.S. victory over Japan in World War II. The sailor mistakenly thought the woman was a nurse in the war because of her uniform.

On Sunday, the man in the iconic photograph, George Mendonsa, died. He was 95.

A bronze replica of the famous kiss is part of "Embracing Peace," an art exhibit by Johnson, currently on display at McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach. The 25-foot statue recently was the backdrop for a Valentine's Day "kiss in."

Maureen Kenyon is TCPalm's trends reporter, keeping Treasure Coast residents updated on hot topics and happenings. Do you have a story to tell? Want to start a conversation? Send an email to maureen.kenyon@tcpalm.com, call 772-221-4249 or follow her on Twitter @_MaureenKenyon_.