The Grévin Museum reworks the wax statue of actor Dwayne Johnson, deemed too light

A Parisian wax museum said Monday it was “reworking” the statue of American star Dwayne Johnson, nicknamed “The Rock,” after the latter complained about its lack of realism, particularly concerning “his skin color.” The actor of African-American origins and from the Samoan Islands, joined on Sunday the concert of mockery around the statue in his likeness, recently unveiled by the museum and presenting him with a fair complexion.

“Please know that I will be asking my team to 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 this evening” 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 had a question of light which lightened his skin texture. “He will come to us later to see if there are any additional modifications to be made,” he added. The statue of the actor was unveiled by the museum last week on social networks, provoking a barrage of criticism and mockery.

“You make The Rock look like David Beckham. Looks like The Rock is about to become part of the royal family. I’m slightly offended,” American comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr. mocked 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 a sculpture, not very successful 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.