EDMONTON -- A graffiti mural of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg that emerged in Edmonton days ago has been defaced.

The artwork, a portrait of the 16-year-old against a bright blue background, was painted on a free wall between 94 Street and Commonwealth Station.

The eyes in the portrait were blacked out, and a slur and a message telling Thunberg to leave Canada were written over top in French.

The mural captured the city's attention earlier in the week when a video by its believed creator was shared on Twitter.

Before it was defaced, the mural read "Thank you Beaver Hills Warriors," a reference to the grassroots environmental group that helped lead Friday's march in Edmonton, and "Thank you Greta."

The artist reponded to the changes on Twitter Sunday:

Haha all good! It’s a freewall, anyone can paint there. Super glad we have a space like this to express ourselves — AJA Louden (@AJALouden) October 21, 2019

Thousands of people joined Thunberg for the rally in Edmonton. The teen visited several Indigenous communities in northern Alberta later in the week, accompanied at one point by a BBC documentary crew.