The Grévin museum in Paris said Monday it was “reworking” the statue of “The Rock”, the American film star Dwayne Johnson, whose real name was Dwayne Johnson, after his complaint concerning its lack of realism, in particular “his skin color”.
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The Grévin Museum in Paris, one of the most famous wax museums in the world, announced Monday October 23 “rework” the statue of Dwayne Johnson, nicknamed “The Rock”, the American cinema star at the helm of the franchise “Fast and Furious”. The latter had complained to the museum about the lack of realism in his replica, particularly concerning “his skin color”, which was too light.
A new version starting this Tuesday
The actor, of African-American origins and from the Samoan Islands, joined the concert of mockery on Sunday October 22 around the statue in his likeness, recently unveiled by the museum and presenting him with a light complexion. “SPlease note that I will have my team contact our friends at the Grevin Museum, in Paris, France, so that we can work on updating my wax statue with important details and improvements – starting with the skin color“, he wrote on Instagram.
Asked by AFP, the Grévin museum assured Monday that it would “rework the statue tonight” in order to present a new version on Tuesday morning. “They will work all night on it so that it is more in line with the expectations of its fans”declared Yves Delhommeau, general director of the Grévin museum, specifying that the teams would “also change the light because there was a question of light which lightened his skin texture”. “He will come see us later to see if there are any additional modifications to be made”he added.
Mockery on the networks
The statue of the actor was unveiled by the museum last week on social networks, provoking a barrage of criticism and mockery. “You’re making The Rock look like David Beckham. It looks like The Rock is about to become royalty. I’m slightly offended”mocked American comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr. in a video re-shared by actor Dwayne Johnson.
The Grévin museum, which welcomes 800,000 visitors per year and features more than 250 celebrities, had already sparked controversy in 2018, by presenting an unsuccessful sculpture by its own admission, with the likeness of Emmanuel Macron. Making one of these wax statues takes six months and costs between 50,000 and 60,000 euros.