In yet another story of an unfortunate statue, the sculptor who created one of NBA legend Dwyane Wade has spoken out.
The statue of Wade, unveiled outside Miami’s Kaseya Center, has stirred social media debate, with some fans saying the sculpture doesn’t resemble the retired Miami Heat star.
The bronze statue captures Wade in an iconic 2009 moment, shouting “this is my house” after sinking a game-winning three-pointer against the Chicago Bulls.
However, reactions from fans and public figures were mixed. Some critics claimed the statue’s face bore more resemblance to actors Laurence Fishburne or Kelsey Grammer than to Wade.
Fellow NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce even suggested Wade deserved a “redo,” saying the Heat legend was “too legendary” for the statue to miss the mark, per BBC News.
“Dwyane Wade’s Heat career – 15 seasons, 3 championships, all-time leader in points, games, assists, and steals – and one completely unrecognizable statue,” sports outlet Barstool Sports posted on X.
One of the statue’s creators, Omri Amrany, responded to the backlash, expressing a belief that art should provoke strong reactions.
“I want to be an artist that creates an in-your-face response,” Amrany told Front Office Sports. “You cannot expect all of human society will have a positive reaction.”
He added to WPLG Local 10 News: “I couldn’t do better than that. I don’t think anybody else can do better than that. It is what it is, and we will love it forever.”
Amrany, who collaborated with Wade on the design and has also crafted statues of NBA greats like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, explained that Wade personally selected the celebrated moment depicted in the sculpture and had visited the studio several times to offer feedback.
Wade, however, has maintained his support for the piece. “Personally, I’m biased, I think it’s one of the best statues that’s been created because of what it represents for us and for me,” he told the Miami Herald.
Wade also praised the piece as “beautiful” during the unveiling ceremony on Sunday.
This isn’t the only bizarre story of a statue of a sportsperson capturing headlines at the minute.
If you cast your mind back to the Olympic Games in the summer, you’ll probably remember RayGun, the Australian breakdancer.
Well, a weird statue of her has also emerged.
The statue, crafted from papier-mâché and decorated with rubber gloves, a tracksuit, and an Olympic flag, captures Gunn mid-air in her signature “kangaroo” move.
The artwork was first reported by a caller on Melbourne’s 3AW radio station, who told host Ross Stevenson: “Following on from her huge success of breakdancing in Paris, RayGun is now dancing in the streets of the north.”
Stevenson was visibly impressed by the artistry, responding, “That is amazing. That is awesome. Someone’s put up a statue of RayGun. Is that in someone’s backyard or in a public thoroughfare?”
The caller clarified that the statue is positioned on a public nature strip, with Stevenson adding: “That is outstanding. Look at the balance they’ve managed to achieve there with that statue. How do you do that?”
It seems like weird statues are all the rage.
Dwyane Wade speaks out after ‘unrecognizable’ statue of him sparks backlash
Dwyane Wade has spoken out following backlash of an “unrecognizable” statue that was sculpted of his most famous moment.
As previously reported, the statue, which depicts Wade in his memorable 2009 “this is my house” moment after a game-winning three-pointer against the Chicago Bulls, was intended as a tribute to one of Wade’s defining career highlights.
It was installed outside Miami’s Kaseya Center, and has ignited social media discussions and drawn mixed reactions from fans.
“Dwyane Wade’s Heat career – 15 seasons, 3 championships, all-time leader in points, games, assists, and steals – and one completely unrecognizable statue,” sports outlet Barstool Sports posted on X, adding that Wade’s legacy warranted a more accurate representation.
Wade’s long-time friend and fellow NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce even suggested that Wade might deserve a “redo,” remarking: “The Heat legend was too legendary for the statue to miss the mark,” according to BBC News.
Sculptor Omri Amrany, who co-created the statue, has since responded to the backlash, defending the artistic approach.
“I want to be an artist that creates an in-your-face response,” Amrany told Front Office Sports. “You cannot expect all of human society will have a positive reaction.”
Speaking to WPLG Local 10 News, he added: “I couldn’t do better than that. I don’t think anybody else can do better than that. It is what it is, and we will love it forever.”
Well, Wade himself has now given his thoughts on the statue, and he seems impressed.
“If I wanted it to look like me, I’d just stand outside the arena and y’all can take photos,” Wade explained on Monday, one day after the unveiling, via ESPN.
“It don’t need to look like me. It’s the artistic version of a moment that happened that we’re trying to cement.”
“I care, but I don’t,” Wade said. “The social media world is about opinions. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone, use y’all opinions. Please talk more about us. Talk more about a statue, come on down to see it, take some photos, send some memes. We don’t care.”
Wade continued to defend the statue at a halftime ceremony during the Detroit-Miami game on Monday, coinciding with the 21st anniversary of his debut with the Heat.
Addressing the crowd, he emphasized the significance of the tribute, stating it was as much for the fans as it was for him.
“There’s only a few organizations that have a statue outside. There’s not even 15 players who played this game of basketball that have a statue outside,” Wade told the audience.
“So, for me to be the vessel that’s used, to be the chosen one, I’m proud of it. I’m proud because we worked very, very, very hard to create an image that will stand for a very long time that expresses what the Miami Heat, my family, and our fan base is about.”
Wade added: “So, don’t let nobody talk about our house. Because this is our house. They’re on the outside. Leave them out there.”
Despite the feedback, Wade expressed appreciation for the sculptors’ efforts, acknowledging their commitment and creativity.
“I don’t know a lot of people with a statue. Do you? Anybody here, you all know anything about the process of a statue? No one out there do neither,” Wade said.
Wade also addressed the memes circulating online, some of which suggested the statue more closely resembles actor Laurence Fishburne than the NBA Hall of Famer.
While he chuckled at some of the comparisons, he noted that criticism is familiar territory for artists and athletes alike.
“Every time they create something, someone has to come out and say something about their creation. They cannot do what they do,” Wade said of the sculptors.
“I know what that feels like because I’m an athlete, a former athlete. People talked about me a lot, but they couldn’t do what I do. And so, you learn how to just laugh, look at it, learn from it, move on, whatever. So, we good. We good.”
Iggy Azalea reveals why she has quit OnlyFans despite being one of the top celebrity earners on the platform
By Asiya Ali
Iggy Azalea has shared the reason why she quit OnlyFans despite being one of the website’s top earners.
In 2023, the 34-year-old Australian star took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that she had signed up for the subscription service.
Writing to her 7.6 million Twitter followers in the now-removed post, the ‘Fancy’ rapper revealed in the now-removed post: “SURPRISE! Im dropping a mixed media project called ‘Hotter Than Hell’. There’s photographs, visual artist collabs, videos, merch, and all kinds of aesthetically pleasing, hot as hell things happening this year. You can get first look content + updates on my new OnlyFans account,” cited by XXL Mag.
According to reports, Azalea is the most financially successful celebrity on the website, raking in an astonishing monthly earnings of $9.2 million.
But it seems like the ‘Black Widow’ rapper has made enough as she is now hanging up her boots and moving on to new business ventures, such as her $MOTHER crypto coin and presence on the social messaging service, Telegram.
She opened up about the reason she closed down her account on the 18+ person in a July interview with Laura Shin on the Unchained podcast.
Watch the video below:
The rapper revealed to Shin that while she’s not making as much money from her crypto business, she doesn’t see a difference between the two platforms.
“I mean, I’m sure a lot of people wouldn’t like to hear it in a way because people think about OnlyFans and they think that it’s so sexually deviant and a lot of it is, obviously,” she said.
“But a lot of it isn’t, and so for me to say what I’m going to say right now and say it’s really not that different, I’m sure a lot of people would like to think they’re a lot different to the people that go on OnlyFans,” she added.
The mother-of-one explained that her time on the website was a “learning experience for me because I already have experience cultivating communities,” which was easy, after all, she has been “a musician for a long time.” She also noticed that all people willing to pay for content wanted was a connection.
Azalea then shared that OnlyFans began as a platform for her to share explicit images that weren’t allowed on Instagram.
“I ended up getting really sick and not being able to complete that, but what I did learn was that a lot more of my people that I would talk to every day just seemed like they wanted regular human interaction or friendship more than they wanted a transactional relationship,” she said.
Fans would send the ‘Work’ rapper messages on Instagram about how they love talking to her on Onlyfans but cannot afford their $25 subscription that month.
Azalea said those messages made her realize that it was “really just more about friendship connection” which was “beyond monetary”.
That’s why she joined Telegram, a website that allows people to make money by offering a paid subscription for premium content, or by selling products, services, and ads.
By Asiya Ali
The 58-year-old Hollywood star has had a long and successful career in the film industry.
According to reports, the From Dusk Till Dawn star has a net worth of an estimated $200 million – which is from her hard work in Hollywood and various entrepreneurial pursuits.
Although Hayek has enough money to last a lifetime and is married to François-Henri Pinault, a French businessman with an estimated net worth of $20.6 billion – she revealed in a recent interview with Wall Street Journal Magazine that she feels “pressure” to make money.
“I support a lot of the aspects of my life and myself,” she candidly shared. “I have the pressure to make a certain amount of money, and I like it. And now, I decided, I want to make more.”
Hayek disclosed that she and her husband, who was ranked as the 99th richest person in the world, keep their finances “separate” even though there’s “no prenuptial agreement dividing assets”.
She said the billionaire marvels at her work ethic and revealed that she’s considering more business ventures with their 17-year-old daughter, Valentina.
The couple, who tied the knot in 2009 after three years of dating, both came from wealth.
The Eternals star’s father was an oil executive, while the CEO of luxury retail group Kering inherited the empire from his father. However, the actress admitted that living among the wealthy put money at the forefront of her mind.
“To me, the excitement about having a lot of money was that I didn’t have to think about money, and it turned out all people wanted to talk to me about was money,” Hayek said.
She noticed other affluent people wanted to become friends with her simply because of her finances. “Strangers coming to me that aren’t even friends, but they think we should be friends because they’re rich too,” she told WSJ.
Back in April, Hayek took to her Instagram to celebrate her and Pinault’s 15th wedding anniversary.
“There are no words to explain the blessing of finding your soulmate,” she wrote in the caption, sharing pictures from their special day.
“For all of you who found it, never take it for granted. For all of you who haven’t, never give up #tbt to one of the best days of my life,” she added.
By Asiya Ali
As previously reported, the 30-year-old actress appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside fellow stars Eddie Redmayne, Paul Mescal, and Denzel Washington.
The segment began with Redmayne revealing that he learned self-defense from a specialist combat expert for his role as an assassin in his new series, The Day of the Jackal.
After the 42-year-old Academy Award winner shared that he was taught how to use his mobile phone as a weapon to hit an attacker in the neck, Paul Mescal, who will star in Gladiator alongside Washington, joked that he would not think of pulling out his phone during an attack.
“Who is actually going to think about that? If someone actually attacked me, I’m not going to go ‘phone,’” the 28-year-old actor said, then gesturing as if to take a phone out of his pocket.
Ronan attempted to respond, but the audience’s reaction made it hard for her to get the words out. Mescal then continued to quip: “Sorry Mom, one second – bang,” while pretending to talk on an invisible phone. “That’s a very good point,” Redmayne chimed in afterward, as host Norton began to mime checking his pockets.
That’s when the Little Women actress interjected, saying: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time.” The actors were immediately stunned into silence, so she added: “Am I right ladies?” and was met with a round of applause.
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The Lady Bird actress reflected on the moment after she received praise for addressing the reality of women’s safety concerns on TV.
“The reaction has been wild. It’s definitely not something that I had expected, and I didn’t necessarily set out to sort of make a splash. But I do think there’s something really telling about the society that we’re in right now and about how open women want to be with the men in their lives,” she said on The Ryan Tubridy Show, cited by Shropshire Star.
“So many men and women that I know from all over the world have gotten in touch with me about this one comment,” she said, urging people to “watch this in context”.
She contended that the male Hollywood stars ‘”weren’t sort of like debunking anything that I was saying” and it’s crucial to watch “the whole interview or at least that part of the conversation”.
“But at the same time, it felt very similar to like when I am at dinner with a bunch of my friends and I will always make the point that, well, this is actually an experience that we go through every single day, 100 percent,” she continued.
Ronan noted that Mescal is “one of [her] very dear friends” and she’s had “conversations like that with him before and he completely gets that and completely understands that”.
Overall, the Ladybird star is happy that “a moment like that that happened on a show like Graham Norton, which is something that the entire nation channels in to watch and even overseas, it’s something that people tune into, it seems to have had an accessibility which seems to have really gained traction, which I think is amazing”.
