Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is unhappy with his new wax figure at the Grevin Museum in Paris and has requested a change in the skin tone. The actor expressed his dissatisfaction in an Instagram post after comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr.’s take on the wax figure, which portrayed Johnson with lighter skin. Jefferson humorously noted that Paris had transformed “The Rock” into “the pebble.”
Comedian Jefferson remarked that the wax figure of The Rock appeared as if it had never seen the sun in its existence. The Rock, who has a Black and Samoan heritage, shared the comedian’s video mocking his light-skinned wax figure on his Instagram.
The Rock indicated his intention to contact the Grevin Museum in Paris to update the wax figure, particularly focusing on correcting the skin color. He served notice that the next time he’s in Paris, he’ll visit the museum and “have a drink with himself.”
The Grevin Museum in Paris, akin to Madame Tussauds museums in New York City and London, showcases wax figures of famous personalities, including the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Nelson Mandela, and Leonardo DiCaprio, according to CBS News.
The museum revealed that the wax figure of The Rock Johnson was created by sculptor Stéphane Barret, who relied on photos and videos rather than an in-person encounter with the celebrity. This was contained in a news release by the museum.
The process of creating The Rock Johnson’s wax figure involved the teams visiting gyms to find a man with similar physical measurements to the celebrity. Sculptor Barret noted that replicating someone of The Rock’s size was impressive, and they were fortunate to discover an individual who closely matched Johnson’s physique and height, which contributed to the figure’s accuracy.
The sculptor said the team found it challenging to capture the subtle smirk that Johnson had in the reference photo used for the wax figure. The figure’s eyes were redone three times to achieve the right warmth and avoid making them too dark. According to Barret, the process of painting Johnson’s Samoan tattoos on the figure took a total of 10 days, as mentioned in the release.
Johnson has a Samoan mother and has portrayed Pacific Islander characters, including Maui in Disney’s “Moana.” In 2021, he created and starred in the autobiographical sitcom “Young Rock,” which explored his childhood with his father, Canadian wrestler Rocky Johnson, who is Black.
In response to a Twitter user’s comment in 2019, Johnson affirmed that he identifies as both Black and Samoan, reflecting his mixed heritage.
