The controversial nature of skin lightening in media has been a topic hotly discussed in India for decades now. Whether it be stars looking multiple shades lighter on the silver screen or skincare creams claiming to make that a reality; across India and South East Asia at large, the debate surrounding skin lightening has always remained a pressing issue. But it seems like it extends to persons of colour and varied ethnicities in other parts of the world too.
Dwayne Johnson's wax figure in Paris
Photo Credit: Grevin Paris
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson landed in the limelight as a professional wrestler and transitioned into a Hollywood actor, mainly in action and comedy films such as Fast And The Furious, Moana and Jumanji. Recently, the Grevin museum in Paris unveiled a wax figure of the actor, which drew flak for its noticeably lighter skin tone. Users on social media have called out the French museum for "white-washing" the celebrity in a "melanin-deficit" manner. Mr. Johnson is born from a Samoan mother and Black Nova Scotian descendent father.
Dwayne too, spoke out on Instagram about the controversial skin lightening of his statue in Paris. On a meme video of the controversy that he reposted, he said, "For the record, I'm going to have my team reach out to our friends at Grevin Museum, in Paris so we can work at "updating" my wax figure here with some important details and improvements - starting with my skin color."
To create the statue, the establishment detailed how their team had to visit gyms to match a man with similar physical attributes as Dwayne. The intricacy of replicating his Samoan tattoos took 10 days and his eyes had to be redone thrice to really bring out their warmth.
The Gravin Museum in Paris has been quick to address the white-washing controversy around Dwayne's wax statue. In a video in French, they referenced the issue of lightening the actor's skin tone and gave viewers a glimpse into its making. Their caption stated, "THE DWAYNE JOHNSON CASE Promise, we'll do better next time! Thank you @therock for your kindness and the invitation to drink We're here!".
Their Instagram Story calls it a "work in progress" so it seems like The Rock will be headed back to the vanity table to accurately represent his true tone, once and for all.
Sources: CNN, The Guardian
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