Beyonce Wax Figure Pulled for Being ‘Too White’
A wax figure of Beyonce was pulled at Manhattan’s Madame Tussauds on Thursday to be given a makeover, after backlash accusing the figure of being “too white”.
The controversy began after pictures of the new wax figure began circulating on social media. Wax Beyonce had long, curly blonde hair, and looked much thinner and lighter in skin-tone than the 35-year-old mega star.
The backlash escalated quickly, particularly over Twitter, with the Beyhive – Beyonce’s loyal fandom – pointing out that the figure looked completely “whitewashed”, and bore a much stronger resemblance to stars such as Shakira, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan.
A spokesperson for the museum originally defended the figure: “Lighting within the attraction combined with flash photography may distort and misrepresent the colour of our wax figures, which is something our sculptors are unable to account for at the production stage.”
But by Thursday, they had quietly removed the wax figure from the museum floor.
On Friday, the figure returned, post make-over. About this re-emergence, the museum said, “We have adjusted the styling and the lighting of her figure and she is on display at Madame Tussauds New York.”
This is not the first time that a Beyonce wax figure has drawn criticism. Her figures in museums across the world have ranged from unrecognisable to terrifying. It seems that Beyonce is truly one of a kind.
Image: Beyonce Wax Figure Whitewashed Feature [online image] (2017) sourced on 24 July 2017 from http://static.highsnobiety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/19211429/beyonce-wax-figure-whitewashed-feature-480×320.jpg
