Beyonce wax figure modified after criticism

CAIRO - 22 July 2017: R&B singer Beyonce’s Wax figure at Madame Tussauds museum in New York has been given a makeover after visitors and fans accused the museum of whitewashing, as the sculpture's skin tone was much lighters than the singer's, who is of mixed race.

“On Thursday afternoon, the statue was absent from the display floor, but it lived on in social media, where a photograph of the figure drew criticism from far and wide this week. By Friday afternoon, Beyoncé statue was in its place on the museum’s top floor. Some visitors (finally) recognized the famous singer’s likeness from across the room and walked over to take selfies.” NY Times stated.

Fans and visitors did not like the first version of the statue which looked nothing like Beyonce. On Thursday, Madame Tussauds rejected claims of "whitewashing" and it issued a statement defending the statue. It said that lighting and flash photography can sometimes distort the image.

"Our talented team of sculptors takes every effort to ensure we accurately color match all of our wax figures to the celebrity being depicted," the company told TMZ website."Lighting within the attraction combined with flash photography may distort and misrepresent the color of our wax figures," it added.