Tina Turner’s hometown of Brownsville, Tennessee, raised tens of thousands of dollars to celebrate her legacy with a 10-foot bronze statue, which horrified fans are now slamming as a “disgrace.”
The statue, which was made possible by 50 donors, including one donor who provided $150,000, shows the Rock ‘n’ Roll legend with outsized hair that swallows her head in a bronze mass, making her head seem disproportionate to her body.
Although Ajanogha was trying to capture Turner’s iconic presence and hair, fans felt that he missed the mark on this one, immediately expressing their outrage with how the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll was portrayed.
“That Tina Turner statue pisses me off SO BAD,” one fan wrote on X.
Another tweeted, “That Tina Turner statue is a tragedy. She deserves better. Tennessee will pay for their crimes,” followed by a crying emoji.
“That statue looks horrible!” A third added. “That looks nothing like the great Tina Turner! What a disgrace of a disaster!”
Another fan penned, “This statue is atrocious and thank god Tina passed before this thing was erected. She couldn’t take any more trauma. S–t like this is why she moved to Switzerland. Did the artist create from memory? Jesus Christ this is disrespectful.”
Fans seemed to take particular issue with how Turner’s hair and face were carved for the sculpture, with one fan even likening the statue to “a damn Elden Ring boss.”
“As a fan of Tina Turner, this statue does nothing to compliment her beauty,” another wrote.
“I’m sorry, but the tina Turner statue is hilarious,” one tweeted. “I can’t look at it without laughing. And that’s my girl, but Why they do that to her hair?”
“Girl they wrong as hell for the wig on that tina turner sculpture,” one wrote with a laughing emoji.
Brownsville, however, seems to feel that the statue achieves its initial purpose of honoring the famed singer. While the town hasn’t addressed the online criticism directly, they did share their thoughts when the statue was first unveiled.
“The statue itself is a stunning tribute, capturing Tina Turner’s dynamic energy and legendary style,” the town wrote in a city news update. “It stands as a testament to her groundbreaking career, resilience, and the powerful impact she had on music and culture worldwide. Local officials expressed their pride in honoring her memory in such a prominent and inspiring way.”
Before Turner became a superstar, releasing hits like “What’s Love Got to Do with It” and “Proud Mary,” that cemented her fame and led her to eight Grammy Award wins, she was just a girl called Anna Mae Bullock from the farming community of Nutbush, outside of Brownsville, about an hour away from Memphis.
Although Turner may have moved on to larger stardom—and even another country—before her death at age 83 in May 2023, Nutbush and Brownsville never forgot her, instituting Tina Turner Heritage Days in 2006 to celebrate her for a weekend each year.