Museum will update 'melanin deficient' Dwayne Johnson wax figure
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The most recent wax rendition of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson fulfills its main purpose of resembling the actor . . . at least, sort of.
The sculpture commissioned by the Grévin Museum in Paris is built like a rock (pun intended), with ripped arms protruding from the sleeves of a fitted polo shirt. Peeking out are Johnson's signature biceps tattoos - a detailed bull skull and an intricate Polynesian tribal design that took "painters 10 days of painstaking work and a lot of research" to replicate, according to the museum.
But since its unveiling last week, what's supposed to be Johnson's wax doppelgänger has been ridiculed online. With its smooth complexion and lighter skin color, the sculpture has drawn comparisons to other muscular bald men, both real and imagined, including all-purpose cleaner mascot Mr. Clean and fellow Fast & Furious actor Vin Diesel.
Johnson, whose mother is Samoan and father is Black, on Sunday weighed in on the "melanin deficient" sculpture - as one Instagram post put it - stating that his representatives would get in touch with the museum "so we can work at 'updating' my wax figure here with some important details and improvements - starting with my skin color."
The next day, the Grévin Museum announced via its Instagram stories that "artists are already working on improving" the Johnson statue. It did not immediately respond to The Washington Post's request for comment Monday evening.
How the American wrestler-turned-actor wound up gracing the halls of a museum housing bloody scenes from the French Revolution, as well as over 250 wax figures of presidents, historical figures, celebrities and athletes, is the product of the first-ever "Grévin Awards."
To celebrate its 140th anniversary last year, the museum allowed the public to choose among 10 nominees for its next international celebrity sculpture. Garnering 48 percent of votes, Johnson was the top pick in a star-studded field that included fellow actors Tom Holland, Zendaya, Margot Robbie, Lupita Nyong'o and Chris Pratt; singers Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and Selena Gomez; and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Over the next several months, artists worked to replicate Johnson's likeness, the museum said. His eyes had to be thrice redone "to avoid too dark a tint, making the star's face too hard and erasing its warm aspect." To re-create Johnson's muscular 6-foot-5 frame, the team ventured out to local gyms to find a model who could match the actor's proportions.
"That really allowed us to get it right," sculptor Stéphane Barret said in a news release. "What was a little harder for me was the sample photo that was chosen, where he just had a very slight smile on his face, an expression that's quite difficult to achieve. It was very subtle."
"The most complicated thing about realism is getting the statue to come alive from the visitors' perspective," Barret added.
Yet when photos of the sculpture were released, the internet was not quite convinced of the likeness.
"The rock is samoan/African American but yours looks like Eastern European plumber," one user commented on the museum's Instagram post.
"They turned 'The Rock' into a pebble . . . It look like 'The Rock' ain't never seen the sun a day in his life," comedian James Jefferson said in a video, adding that the wax version of Johnson looked more like David Beckham, a member of the royal family or an employee at the tax preparation company H&R Block.
Johnson addressed the controversy Sunday by reposting Jefferson's video on Instagram. He joked that his next trip to Paris would include "a drink with myself." Though he used a whiskey glass emoji, the drink in question might wind up being more distinctly French.
"We are waiting for him when he will come to Paris and the Grevin Wax Museum to celebrate that with a cup of champagne," the museum said in a statement to Today.com.
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