Tina Turner’s fans seem to agree that a new statue of the late music legend is simply not the best.
The 10-foot-tall bronze statue was unveiled Sept. 27 during the annual Tina Turner Heritage Days celebration in Turner’s hometown of rural Brownsville, Tennessee. It depicts the “What’s Love Got to Do with It” singer, who died in May 2023 at age 83, performing in a mini-skirt and heels while holding a microphone.
Fred Ajanogha, the Atlanta-based sculptor who created the statue, reportedly paid extra attention to capturing the essence of Turner’s hair, which he compared to the “mane of a lion,” according to the AP.
But after the Brownsville Haywood County Chamber of Commerce shared a video on Facebook showing the moment the statue was uncovered near a museum honoring Turner at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, fans began expressing disappointment.
A newly-unveiled statue of singer Tina Turner stands at a park on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Brownsville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz).
“That statue should have been kicked down after the unveiling. That is a very poor replica of what is supposed to be The Iconic Tina Turner. So Disrespectful!” one wrote beneath the video while another fan said whoever paid for the statue should “get their money back.”
The statue also met with criticism on X, with one disappointed Turner fan calling it a “tragedy,” and writing, “She deserves better.”
“I’m sorry, but the Tina Turner statue is hilarious. I can’t look at it without laughing. And that’s my girl, but why they do that to her hair?” wrote someone else.
Another music lover questioned how anyone could take the statue of Turner seriously. “At this point Im convinced that these so-called sculptors are trolling us,” the person wrote.
Meanwhile, others who seemed to know something about art blamed the medium rather than the sculptor, like the person who posted side-by-side pics of the Turner statue next to a notorious 2009 statue of comedy legend Lucille Ball that was so hated, the sculptor ended up apologizing for it.
“Some bronze statues,” the person reasoned, “just don’t turn out that well.”
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