A Beyoncé wax figure currently on display at Madame Tussauds in New York is causing an online stir over its contrasting appearance to the real-life Queen Bey. After Twitter user Joe shared an appreciative photo of the statue Tuesday, it quickly began to garner backlash. While the picture in question wasn’t an official photo, it looks similar to one shared by the museum, and prompted some to call out the figure’s whitewashed look in the shot.
“It’s a good thing you’re not talking about *Beyoncé. cause this white woman is definitely not her,” wrote one disapproving Bey fan in response.
Other members of the pop star’s fanbase, the Beyhive, drew attention to the fact that this isn’t the first time a wax museum has missed the mark on creating a likeness of the Lemonade artist. “Theory: Beyoncé wax figure makers have never seen Beyoncé,” posited user Michelle Lee.
The museum responded to the criticism in a statement to Page Six on Wednesday, claiming the photo is misrepresentative of the figure’s actual appearance.
At Madame Tussauds, our talented team of sculptors take every effort to ensure we accurately colour match all of our wax figures to the celebrity being depicted. 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.
See a selection of the reactions to the figure below.
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Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com