Museum Apologizes Dwayne Johnson’s Wax Figure’s ‘Whiter Than It Should Have Been’ Skin Tone After Outcry

In October, fans were disappointed when the Musée Grévin in Paris unveiled their wax figure of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The wax figure involved a significant amount of work and attention to detail, especially regarding the actor’s tattoos. Despite the effort, they failed by a long shot to match his skin tone accurately.

Fans then took to social media to vent their frustrations and demanded a remake. They accused the museum of “whitewashing” an actor of Samoan and black Nova Scotian ancestry.

Some even compared him to Mr. Clean and his Fast and Furious co-star, Vin Diesel. Others wondered how the museum could let this mistake happen, with one person asking if they had asked “someone of color for their opinion.”

Social media influencer and comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr. wrote a social media post where he humorously called out the museum, asking if this is how white people felt when they “lost the little mermaid.”

Johnson responded, saying that he “belly laughed” at the video.

“I’m going to have my team reach out to our friends at 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,” he added.

He said he would stop by the next time he was in Paris to have a drink with himself.

The museum’s managing director, Yves Delhommeau, responded to the backlash with an Instagram video explaining what had happened. He attributed the issue to poor lighting and was just as surprised as the fans at how pale Jackson’s wax figure had turned out. He noted the skin tone was “whiter than it should have been.”

The museum acknowledged that Johnson was right and assured fans that they would “remedy this as quickly as possible.”

The new wax figure of Johnson was unveiled at the Musée Grévin and is now open to the public.