Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said he plans to work with Musée Grévin in Paris to “update” the wax figure of him that was unveiled this month to include a more accurate depiction of his skin tone and other “important details.”
Fans were confused by the French museum’s depiction of the professional wrestler-turned-actor, which showed him with a lighter skin color than his actual complexion.
Johnson reposted a video on his Instagram from comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr. who made fun of the statue. “It looks like The Rock has never seen the sun a day in his life … You make The Rock look like he David Beckham,” said Jefferson. “It looks like The Rock is going to be a part of the royal family. Did y’all even Google him?”
In a press release posted to the museum’s website, it said sculptor Stéphane Barret had to rely on photos and videos to create the figure, and his eyes were redone three times to “avoid too dark a tint making the star's face too hard and erasing its warm aspect.”
The museum also said Johnson’s Samoan tattoos took 10 days and a lot of research to paint on.
Johnson was born in California to a Black Nova Scotian father and Samoan mother. His father was also a professional wrestler who went by the name Rocky Johnson and was part of one of the first Black tag teams in wrestling history.
His wax figure isn’t the first to be criticized for its skin tone inaccuracy. Back in 2017, Madame Tussauds restyled a statue of Beyonce after fans accused the museum of “whitewashing” the pop star.
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