LOS ANGELES (AP) — The New York and Los Angeles police departments are poking some fun at their perceived rivalry and wading into a hotly contested debate: Is "Die Hard" a Christmas movie?
It began when NYPD tweeted Monday that they'd been working with LAPD "to protect Christmas since Hans Gruber's 1988 attack on Nakatomi Plaza" with the hashtag, #YesItsAChristmasMovie.
The debate over whether the Bruce Willis blockbuster is a Christmas movie has emerged in recent years.
RELATED: 'Die Hard' trailer recut to look more like a Christmas film
Set on Christmas Eve, the movie follows NYPD Detective John McClane as he singlehandedly stops a group of terrorists led by Gruber (Alan Rickman) in Los Angeles.
On this Christmas Eve, we’d like to acknowledge our partners at @LAPDHQ who have been working with us to protect Christmas since Hans Gruber’s 1988 attack on Nakatomi Plaza. #DetectiveJohnMclean #YesItsAChristmasMovie pic.twitter.com/qOEgD1Lqt3
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 24, 2018
LAPD tweeted back that NYPD will always be welcome to follow McClane "and come to the (better) coast and have a party. Yippie Ki Yay & ho ho ho."
On this Christmas Eve, we too would like to acknowledge our partners at @NYPDnews for their continued partnership-they’ll always be more than welcome to follow in McClane’s footsteps & come to the (better) coast & have a party. Yippie Ki Yay & ho ho ho. #YesItsAChristmasMovie pic.twitter.com/yAKpZK7eIa
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) December 24, 2018
