Nine of the most unhinged wax figures

THE immortalisation of celebrities sounds like a good thing. After all, commemorating those who have shaped generations of pop culture and politics, earning their place in the annals of history, sounds positive — necessary, even. Unfortunately, for any A-lister hoping to cement themselves as someone who was anyone, the marker that you have reached the top is not a glittering trophy, glamorous ceremony or glorious acknowledgement on television. Rather, it’s having your likeness replicated in a wax figure.

The indisputable most famous maker of celebrity wax figures, Madame Tussauds has become legendary, boasting museums packed with celeb replicas in London, New York, Sydney, Bangkok, and more, and inspired the emergence of myriad other wax museums worldwide.

But, while some figures created by these various centres bare an uncanny resemblance, others are a little more… unhinged. From creepy royal replicas to a nativity scene featuring David and Victoria Beckham, these are the worst weirdest celebrity wax figures.

1/ The celebrity Nativity Scene

The longer we look at this Nativity Scene from the London museum’s 2004 Christmas display, the more questions we have.

Why is Kylie Minogue dressed as an angel flying above David and Victoria Beckham, who are representing Joseph and Mary? Does that mean Jesus is meant to be a young Brooklyn? Whose idea was this?

Questions aside, the choice to put George W Bush, Prince Philip and former Prime Minister Tony Blair (as the Three Wise Men) alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant and Graham Norton (as the shepherds), as well as Kylie Minogue, and Posh and Becks, has made for one iconic wax scene.

2/ Ariana Grande

Madame Tussauds unveiled a new Ariana figure in their London branch back in 2019, but not all fans were on board with the wax “replica”.

“Now we have her style nailed, you can see @ArianaGrande at Madame Tussauds London for 5 weeks from Friday,” Tussauds wrote in their original promotion Tweet. Fans responded by calling it “actually offensive” and “abysmal,” with another writing, “I look more like Ariana Grande than this wax figure of Ariana Grande… and I look nothing like Ariana Grande.”

3/ The royals

Yet another Christmas-themed display from London’s Madame Tussauds makes the list with this 2016 royal feature. In it, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Harry wear green knits (the Queen’s with a corgi on it, of course), positioned on either side of Princess Kate and Prince William — who are wearing one festive sweater between the two of them.

6/ Naomi Campbell

You wouldn’t even know this 2005 wax figure at the Musee Grevin in Paris was of Naomi Campbell unless we told you, right?

5/ Princess Kate and Prince William

Madame Tausaude’s Tokyo brand debuted this display of Prince William and Princess Kate back in 2013. While there are some figures of the Prince and Princess of Wales that do actually bare some resemblance, this one, unfortunately, does not.

6/ Billie Eilish

This 2022 figure of Billie Eilish went viral for all the wrong reasons after it was unveiled by the Hollywood Wax Museum. Twitter near-instantly reacted to the sculpture, dropping a host of hilarious Tweets.

7/ Rihanna

In February 2022, Madame Tussauds in London was criticised for its portrayal of Zendaya, which prompted pop culture watchers to share some of the best (ie. the worst) celebrity recreations from the past. Among them, one user bought our attention back to this questionable figure of Rihanna, which originally debuted at the Berlin museum in 2011 complete with a pixie cut, but was thrust back into the spotlight after RiRi was given a new hair ‘do in 2021.

8/ Miley Cyrus

For this wax recreation of Miley Cyrus during her Bangerz era, London’s Madame Tussauds decided to pose her with her tongue out, sliding down a tongue.

9/ Lady Gaga

This wax figure at Museo de cera de Lima in Peru was supposed to represent Lady Gaga in her famous meat dress (the key phrase here is “supposed to”).