Dwayne Johnson Furious With Museum For Getting His Skin Color Wrong
If you can smell what The Rock is cooking, in this case, you’re probably smelling Dwayne Johnson’s furor at The Grévin Museum in Paris for badly botching his wax figure—most glaringly, depicting his skin tone in an oddly pale hue. The museum, famous for its impressive collection of celebrity wax figures, provoked the ire of the wrestler/actor/icon, who took to Instagram to vent his feelings (as we all do). That being said, ever the gentleman, The Rock took a tactful and humorous approach, offering to share a drink with his own wax figure, but only after Grévin amends the wax statue and, most importantly, corrects its skin color.
Plenty on the internet were quick to pan the awkward, inaccurate wax figure failing to resemble Dwayne Johnson. The Rock actually released his statement—which included that his team had reached out to Grévin about correcting the statue—in a repost of comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr.’s reaction to the controversial work of art. In Jefferson Jr.’s response, the comedian facetiously compared the wax statue to David Beckham and UK royal family members. He also creatively opined that the figure looks more like the “pebble” than The Rock.
Dwayne Johnson responds to his whitewashed wax figure by reposting a video from comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr., while stating his intent to reach out to the museum so that corrective action can be taken.
However, the French museum was quick to react and try to get a handle on the widespread (understandable) criticism of its Dwayne Johnson statue. Grévin made it as assuredly clear as possible that corrective action would be taken.
The wax figure museum conveyed its commitment to rectifying its oversight policy before inviting Johnson to visit the French capital and celebrate the corrected statue over a bottle of bubbly.
Some might remember that, in 2019, the very same Grévin Museum earned similar online jeers for its depiction of supermodel Naomi Campbell. In 2017, Madame Tussauds of New York City weathered allegations of whitewashing in their statue of global music icon Beyoncé.
The PR defensive did not stop there. According to The Economic Times, on Grévin’s official website, the wax museum walked its audience through the complex process of crafting such lifelike statues.
Challenges to The Rock figure included the protracted time and effort—ten full days—dedicated to replicating Dwayne Johnson’s intricate tattoos and the repeated attempts to reproduce the actor’s eyes. Grévin’s in-house artist, Stéphane Barret, highlighted how vital realism is to her work and the tricky challenges inherent to creating realistic statues.
While some might find wax figures reminiscent of something out of a horror movie, they remain popular attractions—though the art form is not without its other controversies.
One of the wax statues, like Grévin’s of Dwayne Johnson, takes six months to make and costs around $60,000 and $70,000.
Some might remember that, in 2019, the very same Grévin Museum earned similar online jeers for its depiction of supermodel Naomi Campbell. In 2017, Madame Tussauds of New York City weathered allegations of whitewashing in their statue of global music icon Beyoncé. Hopefully, Dwayne Johnson’s is the last wax statue to feature inaccurate skin pigmentation, but it certainly isn’t the first.
That being said, erecting such detailed wax figures is no small feat. A single statue, for example, requires approximately six months to craft. And they typically cost between 50,000 to 60,000 euros ($60,000 to $70,000).
While the Grévin Museum wrestles with this recent gaff, it remains to be seen how this incident will determine the public’s perception of their work—and wax figures in general.
