Leah Remini. JC Olivera/WireImage
Leah Remini is reacting after fans noticed that a new Beyoncé wax figure looks similar to her.
“I am screaming! And loving all the tweets! This perimenopausal woman will take any and all comparisons to the beautiful Beyoncé,” Remini, 53, wrote via X on Thursday, February 8, alongside a post that pointed out the resemblance.
The actress also replied to one X user who admonished fans for attempting to compliment Remini by calling her prettier than Beyoncé, 42.
I am screaming! And loving all the tweets!
This perimenopausal woman will take any and all comparisons to the beautiful Beyoncé! https://t.co/d8qVR90tcQ
— Leah Remini (@LeahRemini) February 8, 2024
“People tell Leah she’s beautiful without putting Beyoncé down challenge,” the user wrote.
“Exactly!!” Remini responded.
Leah Remini has been an outspoken critic of the Church of Scientology since she left the controversial religion in 2013. The actress — who was brought into the church as an 8-year-old after her mother converted — slammed the organization for its alleged scare tactics and seemingly helping certain members avoid jail for various crimes. […]
Madame Tussauds Blackpool unveiled the Beyoncé statue, as well as a new Lady Gaga wax figure, on Thursday. In addition to Remini, Rihanna and Tyra Banks were also named as look-alikes of the figure.
“They said … you getting the Rihanna special,” one X user wrote.
Another chimed in: “I think I see more Tyra Banks than Leah Remini.”
This is not the first time that a Beyoncé wax figure has sparked backlash. In July 2017, The New York Times reported that a statue modeled on the musician was temporarily taken off the floor at Madame Tussauds in New York City after receiving criticism for looking whitewashed.
It is a great honor for a celebrity to get their own wax figure — but sometimes the artwork doesn’t meet expectations. Long before Dwayne Johnson’s Parisian wax statue made headlines in 2023, Kim Kardashian received her first statue from Madame Tussauds in 2010. The reality star attended the unveiling and posed next to her […]
“Beyonce’s wax figure at @MadameTussauds looks like Kate Gosselin from ‘Kate Plus 8’ wearing a purple ensemble. Um, can we get a re-do? 🤔,” one X user wrote at the time.
After the statue was returned to the floor, Madame Tussauds told the NYT in an emailed statement, “Our talented team of sculptors take every effort to ensure we accurately color match all of our wax figures to the celebrity being depicted. Lighting within the attraction combined with flash photography may distort and misrepresent the color of our wax figures, which is something our sculptors are unable to account for at the production stage.”
The statement continued: “We love, respect and enjoy a working relationship with Beyoncé. We have adjusted the styling and lighting of her figure and she is on display.”
Beyoncé has always been in “formation” — especially when it comes to fashion. The hitmaker never misses the chance to make a style statement — on and off the red carpet. Some of her standout looks were from the Met Gala, specifically the 2015 soirée, which boasted a “China: Through the Looking Glass” theme. Beyoncé’s […]
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson later called out the whitewashing of his own wax figure in October 2023. After comedian and The Circle alum James Andre Jefferson Jr. posted a video criticizing the Grévin Museum in Paris for unveiling a statue of the “Black-ass Samoan” actor looking “like he David Beckham,” Johnson, 51, responded.
“🤣 Legit belly laughed at this ☝🏾,” he wrote via Instagram alongside Jefferson’s video. “For the record, I’m going to have my team reach out to our friends at Grevin Museum, in Paris France 🇫🇷 so we can work at ‘updating’ my wax figure here with some important details and improvements – starting with my skin color 🤣✊🏾💪🏾.”
Johnson’s statue was tweaked shortly thereafter.
“We found his reaction rather friendly when addressing the fact that his figure was indeed whiter than it should have been,” Veronique Berecz, the museum’s head of PR, told Variety of the situation at the time. “We just made an honest mistake based on the photos we looked at. After we saw all these reactions on different blogs and social networks, we changed it immediately.”