A wax figure of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is receiving a makeover after intense social media backlash.
The Musée Grévin, a museum in Paris, France, which specializes in wax figures of famous people, has drawn backlash for their figure of Johnson. Commentators online noticed that the figure's skin is too light represent the multi-ethnic actor, prompting Johnson himself to respond.
“Going to have my team reach out to our friends at the Grevin Museum, in Paris France so we can work at ‘updating’ my wax figure here with some important details and improvements starting with my skin color,” Johnson posted to Instagram.
The caption was attached to a video Johnson reposted from comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr. In the video, Jefferson Jr. said, “they turned ‘The Rock’ into a pebble.”
“It looked like ‘The Rock’ hasn’t seen the sun a day in his life in this damn picture … You make ‘The Rock' look like he’s David Beckham, it looks like ‘The Rock’ is about to be part of the Royal Family," he joked.
Dwayne 'The Chalk' Johnson's wax figure
Many accused the museum of “whitewashing” Johnson and his image. Johnson’s late father, wrestler Rocky Johnson, was of Black Nova Scotian descent while his mother, Ata Maivia, is Samoan.
The museum stated in an Instagram Story on Monday that they are working on correcting the statue, but did not issue a public apology on behalf of Johnson.
“Our artists are already working on improving the waxwork of Dwayne Joohnson,” the Musée Grévin wrote. “Your feedback is always valuable to us.”
According to the original information that was posted about the wax figure on the museum’s website, “after Dwayne Johnson was chosen at the first edition of the Grévin Awards, sculptor Stéphane Barret had to rely on photos and videos to create a statue as close to reality as possible, without the presence of the international star.”
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