Even the best celebrity wax sculptures can be a bit unnerving.
But when they go wrong, they go really, really wrong.
From the shockingly explicit to the who-is-this-even-supposed-to-be…You can't run.
You can't hide.
And you definitely can't unsee these waxy disasters.
Back in 2006, Madame Tussauds New York launched a no-holds-barred attack on the senses, and
we still haven't fully recovered.
According to TMZ, a Britney Spears wax sculpture was ostensibly part of an independent movement
to support Britney, who was going through a rough patch at the time.
According to CBS News, it was the same year that Spears and Kevin Federline officially
filed for divorce.
Christened "Britney Spears 2000," the likeness was intended to be a throwback to Spears'
better days.
A former GM for the museum explained via City Guide,
"Britney's public pop star persona has taken a hit, and we're thrilled to spearhead a movement
to help Britney regain her former glory."
But perhaps "glory" was an odd turn of phrase, considering the creative decisions on display.
According to press materials, the sculpture's breasts were even controlled by animatronics.
"That's horrible."
While we doubt the waxwork helped lift the pop star out of her funk, many fans were thrilled,
with one gentleman passionately telling Reuters:
"Yeah, it looks a lot like her.
I especially like the breathing in her chest and all that.
That's hot."
For Christmas, in 2004, NBC News reported that Madame Tussauds London had staged a sort
of Nativity scene, starring a wax likeness of David Beckham as Joseph and his wife Victoria
as Mary.
And of course the move raised a number of religious eyebrows.
A Vatican spokesperson wasted no time condemning the spectacle, telling Reuters,
"This is worse than bad taste.
It is cheap.
You cannot use contemporary personalities as the central figures in the Nativity."
“You know what, the only thing that's good is the hair and that's about it."
The wax Beckhams certainly weren't the only odd detail in this setup.
NBC News reported that the sacrilegious scene was rounded out by wax sculptures of Graham
Norton as a shepherd, and Tony Blair, Prince Phillip, and George Bush as the three wisemen.
Meanwhile, wax Kylie Minogue portrayed an angel, watching from on high.
Shortly after the story broke, the Independent reported that the display was briskly shut
down due to vandalism.
Nicolas Cage was photographed in 2012 rubbing elbows with his own wax figure at the Musée
Grévin, in Paris.
Of course, it takes two to tango, and numerous publications noted that this particular sculpture
was just not giving the real Nicolas Cage the time of day.
Complex found the whole spectacle, quote, "creepy, " and Gawker pointedly asked its
readership,
"Have you ever seen a wax figure look so fundamentally disinterested in his counterpart?"
"When I look upon it I am terrified.
I do not know which is the real me."
When the story first broke, it seemed like the entire publishing industry was trying
to get to the bottom of Cage's relationship with his glassy-eyed rage-doll.
Both Buzzfeed and Men's Health dedicated entire features to the meet-cute, with the latter
admitting:
"We had to stare for a few seconds to figure out which of these was the real Nicolas Cage.
It was a tough call."
Whatever the case, we certainly wouldn't want to face off with this menacing wax figure
in a dark alley.
Nor in any museum in Paris, for that matter.
In 2016, a Justin Bieber wax figure made its debut at Madame Tussauds London, just before
the real Justin Bieber kicked off a string of concerts in the United Kingdom.
An overzealous museum spokesperson effectively deconstructed the sculpture, explaining to
the Evening Standard,
"The 22-year-old singing sensation's figure is topless, showing a toned torso off to perfection."
At the time, MTV News reported,
"The statue is being routinely showered with water, showing off those glistening six-pack
abs."
But that's not to say that the Bieber sculpture was "being routinely showered" with praise.
PopCrush noted,
"[It's] depressing as hell.
[He's] staring into space, desperately searching for meaning while trapped in his eternal wax
hell."
"Justin's upset.
Why is he upset?"
The Independent noted that hardcore fans could freely view the statue's abs if they weren't
able to catch a glimpse of the Beebz in real life.
And as grim as that sounds, plenty of Beliebers still took the advice to heart, with The Sun
reporting that droves of fans popped in for a selfie with fake Bieber.
Zac Efron has had his fair share of wax likenesses pop up over the years.
And while he probably won't do better than his Madame Tussauds Hollywood Baywatch look,
he likely won't do worse than the creepy German version.
Like he told Ellen in 2019,
"As much as I love Madame Tussauds, I don't think I could ever go in there."
In April 2017, this brooding Baywatch-themed replica was unleashed upon the public, courtesy
of Madame Tussauds Berlin.
Clad in a body-hugging wetsuit, the figure instantly sent shockwaves through the easily
scandalized publishing industry.
Startled Elle editors offered up the headline:
"Zac Efron's New Wax Figure Will Haunt Your Dreams."
They then added that he looked a little bit like a burglar with very dead eyes.
Meanwhile, an InStyle writer didn't feel the sculpture did any justice to the actor, when
she asked,
"Who is this weird, mustachioed imposter?"
"There's no redeeming qualities about me at all."
Elsewhere around the web, Yahoo noted that fans felt the sculpture was reading more "Adam
Levine" than Zac Efron.
No offense to Adam Levine or Zac Efron.
Sorry, Ari!
In 2019, Madame Tussauds London proudly premiered its Ariana Grande statue, announcing on Twitter
that the likeness of the pop princess was based on, quote, "Classic Ari," hence the
signature pony and knee-high boots.
But, in case you haven't already guessed, Twitter was far from pleased with the results.
As Jezebel reported, Grande's fans brought the fire, with one user telling Madame Tussauds
London:
"Y'all need to melt her face [and] start [over] because this ain't it!!"
Meanwhile, another fan simply couldn't contain his disappointment, posting,
"I hate Ariana's new wax figure.
It's not her face.
She deserves more respect, you know."
"I love you."
Meanwhile, the real Ariana Grande weighed in on the sculpture herself, cryptically writing
on Instagram:
"I just wanna talk."
If she was suggesting opening up negotiations on a redesign of her waxen self, we vote "yes."
But if she's suggesting that the statue should actually talk, we're gonna go with a hard
"no."
Ho ho NO.
In 2018, Madame Tussauds Berlin paid a special holiday tribute to Prince Harry and Meghan
Markle.
Unfortunately, that holiday wasn't Halloween.
But these weren't your average terrifying wax figures — they were actors wearing wax
masks molded in the likeness of the Duke and Duchess, both draped in intensely ugly Christmas
sweaters.
According to Page Six, the actors went through the motions of a particularly dismal Christmas
morning, with the Prince Harry character presenting his wife with a Christmas gift, and fake Meghan
sometimes making a big to-do out of touching his arm as he flexed and smiled.
"Oh really.
Please."
"Boom."
Never ones to let a dreadful waxwork pass by unnoticed, Elle staffers pointed out,
"Live wax figures are seriously freaky.
[…] The Meghan Markle replica even wore a fake belly."
Meanwhile, a PopSugar editor perfectly summed up the situation by tweeting:
"These Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wax figures are what you see right before you
die."
Taylor Swift drums up controversy wherever she goes, so it's no surprise that her wax
replica would also cause a stir.
In fact, two totally different Tay-Tay tributes have been tormenting the masses in recent
years — and they both come courtesy of Madame Tussauds.
First up: In 2010, Madame Tussauds New York premiered its visual ode to the "Bad Blood"
singer, prompting NPR to declare,
"Taylor Swift's wax figure is not lifelike enough to represent Taylor Swift."
As The Hollywood Reporter noted, the real Swift was on hand to personally unveil the
wax figure, with the outlet explaining,
"The replica includes an acoustic guitar customized with Swarovski crystals and is donned in a
Jenny Packham dress donated by the 20-year-old singer-songwriter."
But neither Swift nor the replica looked particularly happy to be there.
The attack of the clones continued in 2015, when Madame Tussauds London revealed a brand-new
Taylor Swift figure.
But the spirited tribute to the "Shake It Off" video was similarly pooh-poohed.
Mashable warned,
"London's new wax statue of Taylor Swift is the stuff of nightmares."
Glamour cattily quipped that maybe the statue was having a quote, "bad hair day."
Even Time got in on all the fun, writing:
"Not a fan of the sculpture?
We bet its fans would say haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate."
"You don't have to forgive and you don't have to forget to move on."
While attending the premiere of Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, Chris Hemsworth unwittingly
came face-to-face with a wax figure created in his likeness — at least in theory.
Though the artists at Madame Tussauds Hollywood were clearly aiming for Hemsworth as Thor,
they landed a little closer to Garth from Wayne's World.
"I guess I'm just taking a break."
As we've come to expect, entertainment websites voiced their concerns in no uncertain terms.
ET Online dished,
"The figure has impossibly blonde hair that looks more like glam rock's take on The Rachel
than it does Thor."
And, demonstrating surprising restraint, The Mirror diplomatically noted of the wax figure,
"[It] didn't quite have the same epic feel as Marvel's Norse God."
No.
No it did not.
It all began innocently enough — with a wax figure in Nicki Minaj's likeness displayed
at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas.
In 2015, E! innocently noted,
"The model […] wears the same bikini and chains seen in [Minaj's hit track] 'Anaconda.'"
But in a since-deleted tweet, rapper Azealia Banks didn't try to contain her contempt,
noting,
"As much as that woman has accomplished, they had to put her on all fours."
"It's almost like the sculptor focused so much on the ass that when he got to the face,
he was just like, 'Ah, I'm tired, I don't…I don't know.'"
But the hellstorm had just begun.
As Elite Daily revealed,
"Visitors to the exhibit instantly began to perform lewd acts with the sculpture."
Initially, the real Minaj was a good sport, reacting with emojis as fans flocked to social
media to post increasingly intimate photos with the sculpture.
But the rapper remained conspicuously mum about one image that involved a fan who was
seemingly trying to impregnate the wax figure.
The museum quickly released a statement, saying,
"It is unfortunate that this visitor decided to behave so inappropriately and we apologize
for any offense this has caused."
But the schoolmarmish tone belies the fact that the museum conjured up this puzzling
peepshow in the first place.
When it comes to sheer shock value, most celebrity wax sculptures can't hold a candle to the
creations of Boston's Dreamland Wax Museum.
It habitually trotted out wax sculptures that appeared to be "loosely based" on celebs like
Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady and what might pass for Ben Affleck in another dimension.
As the AP reported in 2017, the museum's inventions often created backlash in the media.
Case in point: Nicole Kidman's chilling replica, which inspired Mashable to write,
"How dare anyone disrespect Nicole Kidman like this?"
The Journal Inquirer, writing either diplomatically or with profound shade, noted:
"You're likely to come away with an appreciation for the craft it takes to make a semi-realistic
version of Nicole Kidman in molded wax, along with new understanding for the old adage about
beauty being in the eye of the beholder."
"It's disgusting.
Are you allowed to say that?"
For what it's worth, a former Dreamland VP told the Associated Press that he took the
bad publicity in stride, saying it was a boost to business to get all the free press.
Still, it appeared that no amount of buzz couldn't stop the museum from closing its
doors forever, in 2020.
Some wax sculptures are just born bad.
Right out of the gate, the press was unnerved by this 2017 Madame Tussauds wax figure of
actor Ryan Gosling, with Vogue Australia calling it, quote, "really creepy."
This apparently was because of several line items, with the outlet noting,
"We're not sure if it's the overly pointy moustache, a lack of visible hands, his exaggerated
forehead or maybe his tiny, beady eyes but this Gosling has nothing on the real thing."
But it appeared that the uncanny likeness of the actor sent the entire publishing world
into a tailspin, with Mashable reporting,
"There's something a little off about this Ryan Gosling wax figure.
[…] It looks just like Ryan Gosling.
And somehow, simultaneously, it does not."
Meanwhile, GQ offered its own hot take, writing,
"Those balloons that spell 'dream date' behind him are a nice touch, if a little creepy."
"It cast some kind of a spell on people."
Though it goes without saying, social media went bananas, with one commentator tweeting:
"There's something so disturbing about this [wax figure] Like it's going to come alive
and eat you when you turn your back."
This wax sculpture caused a serious rumpus among the Kardashian-Jenner clan.
In 2019, A-list guests attending a dinner party at Kris Jenner's home were given quite
the startle, when, according to People, a lifelike replica of Jenner was found perched
by the bar.
Guests including John Legend and Chrissy Teigen were understandably spooked.
Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian remarked:
"I can't even tell you how creepy and amazing this is."
So, did Jenner just order up a lifesize replica of herself for fun?
People reported that it was the custom work of the Hollywood Wax Museum.
Let it also be known that news of the ghoulish gift made it all the way to Australia, with
Perth Now running the headline:
"Kris Jenner shocks family with creepy wax sculpture of herself in home"
Meanwhile, Jenner posted an Instagram story in which she jokingly told daughter Kim:
"It's so you can visit with me and not have to listen to me talk to you."
Madame Tussauds has reportedly been doing a brisk business in shockingly bad Beyoncé
sculptures for over a decade.
In fact, there are enough Queen B's to fill an entire museum, as evidenced by a pictorial
essay in Paper magazine titled "Bad Wax Figures of Beyoncé: A History."
But when it came to one particular version of her, standing alongside wax replicas of
Jaimie Foxx, then-L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and then-L.A. councilman Eric Garcetti, the
outlet christened it,
"[The] drunk girl at the club version of Beyoncé."
"Thanks guys.
You did a great job."
No wonder W magazine named that replica one of the, quote, "most cursed celebrity wax
figures of all time."
But there have been plenty of other problematic examples over the years.
As The Washington Post reported in 2017, Madame Tussauds frantically restyled the statue on
display because it quote, "looked too white to some."
And according to Entertainment Tonight,
"Beyoncé fans called out the figure for looking more like Mariah Carey, Shakira, Lindsay Lohan
or even Kate Hudson."
The controversy even inspired its own hashtag, "Tussauds So White," with one such tweet speculating,
"This is Becky with the good hair.
[…] Not Beyoncé."
A grabby headline of a December 2019 article from E! News pretty much summed this one up,
stating,
"Jimmy Kimmel's Wax Figure Is Absolutely Terrifying."
And it wasn't wrong.
The outlet went on to detail the travails of the late night host's wax figure, conjured
up by Madame Tussauds Hollywood.
To fully exploit the grand unveiling of the statue, Kimmel incorporated the artwork into
a prankish bit that found him terrorizing coworkers by placing the statue in unexpected
corners of the studio.
As E! observed,
"Several employees had to [do] a double take […] and of course, there were tons of gasps
and screams."
"Oh my God.
What the hell.
Oh my God that scared the hell out of me."
Still, the only thing more unsettling than a Jimmy Kimmel wax double is Kimmel impersonating
a Kimmel wax double.
His cousin and coworker Micki learned this the hard way when stumbling into the dressing
area for guests of the show.
There, she found actual Kimmel assuming the same stance as the wax figure in question.
As she attempted to take a selfie, poor Micki barely survived the surprise.
"It's so bizarre.
It is so crazy.
OK, c'mon Jimmy."
In 2018, Madame Tussauds New York unveiled a new wax figure of Melania Trump, which stood
next to a likeness of her husband, Donald Trump; a figure that had been on display at
the museum since 2017.
As Popsugar reported, the unveiling ceremony was presided over by Sean Spicer, former White
House Press Secretary and forever Dancing with the Stars punchline.
But, perhaps most worryingly, the figure marked a new venture for the museum, a visitor experience
called "Give Melania a Voice," according to Popsugar.
This let people tweet as if they were actually Melania, by posting their requests to a dedicated
Twitter account, which was in turn operated by Madame Tussauds.
And of course, visitors had opinions about what Melania might be thinking.
As Cosmo reported,
"Some suggestions […] were 'help' and 'save me' and 'get me out of here.'"
According to Glamour, reactions on social media were predictably divided, with the outlet
noting,
"Some members of the Twittersphere commented online that the wax figure is a dead ringer
for the [First Lady], while others say it looks literally nothing like her."
Either way, no one would argue that the pair of statues looked at all chummy, let alone
happily married to one another.
One Twitter user called out the obvious punchline, writing,
"She won't even hold his hand as a wax figure."
"I don't care.
You can criticize whatever…It will not stop me to do what I feel is right."
You might be wondering why anyone would have a problem with this wax sculpture of rapper
Sean Combs.
By all accounts, Diddy himself was clearly over the moon when attending the 2009 unveiling
at Madame Tussauds New York.
Even Vulture keenly noted,
"[It] might be one of the only celebrity wax statues that didn't immediately fill the human
soul with a terrible sense of uncanny valley."
"If I'm not fresh, I can't make a hit."
Still, it appeared that one impulsive onlooker wasn't feeling fake Diddy's vibe.
As NBC New York reported, a museum visitor was evidently roused to anger at the sheer
sight of the statue in 2019, violently pushing the likeness to the ground and sending its
head clear off its neck.
As of 2021, the suspect is still at large.
Word traveled fast and the news was picked up by numerous outlets, with the Chicago Tribune
reporting on the replica's decapitation and Stereogum noting a continuing investigation.
But Fox News took a different stance, suggesting of the assailant:
"[The man had] a vendetta against [Combs and] took his frustration out on the rapper's wax
figure, [causing] an estimated $300,000 worth of damage."
It appears that wax Diddy was just too beautiful for this world and the real people in it.
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