Topline
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson said he plans to work with the Musée Grévin in Paris to darken the skin tone of his newly unveiled wax figure after the statue meant to resemble the A-list star turned out much lighter-skinned than the actor himself, and drew a wave of attention on social media.
The Dwayne Johnson wax figure is unveiled at Musee Grevin on October 16, 2023 in Paris, France.
Key Facts
The French museum revealed the wax figure of the professional wrestler and world’s highest-paid actor last week, and comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr. quickly posted an Instagram video making fun of the lightened-up version of The Rock that garnered thousands of comments piling on.
Johnson, whose father is Black Nova Scotian and whose mother is Samoan, said on Instagram Monday that he “belly laughed” at Jefferson’s video but did intend to reach out to the museum “so we can work at ‘updating’ my wax figure here with some important details and improvements—starting with my skin color.”
Johnson’s wax figure isn’t the first to be made of a person of color that was slammed by onlookers for skin tone inaccuracies—changes were made to the statues of both Beyoncé and Michelle Obama when they were first unveiled.
Madame Tussauds “adjusted the styling and the lighting” of Beyoncé’s wax figure back in 2017 after fans compared it to a “burnt Farrah Fawcett,” the Washington Post reported, and accused the museum of “whitewashing” the pop star—the figure was briefly taken off of display and returned with darker skin.
An early wax figure of Michelle Obama, unveiled in January of 2010, was criticized for its hair style, smile and inaccurate skin tone before a more flattering figure was installed at Madame Tussauds in 2013, Insider reported.
Media representatives from the Musée Grévin did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment Monday.
Painter Franck Bruno, left, and sculptor Stephane Barret, right, pose with Dwayne Johnson wax figure … [+]
Crucial Quote
“It looks like The Rock has never seen the sun a day in his life… You make The Rock look like he David Beckham,” comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr. said on Instagram. “It looks like The Rock is going to be a part of the royal family. Did y’all even Google him?”
Big Number
5. This is the fifth wax figure of The Rock to be unveiled since the start of 2022, according to Rolling Stone. The other statues were made for Madame Tussauds locations in New York, Hollywood, Las Vegas, and Orlando.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/10/23/dwayne-the-rock-johnson-asks-paris-museum-to-fix-the-skin-color-of-his-wax-figure/