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Ronaldo's not alone - here are four other terrible statues of famous people

This week, an honourary bust for footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was unveiled on the Portuguese...
Newstalk
Newstalk

17.05 30 Mar 2017


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Ronaldo's not alone -...

Ronaldo's not alone - here are four other terrible statues of famous people

Newstalk
Newstalk

17.05 30 Mar 2017


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This week, an honourary bust for footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was unveiled on the Portuguese island of Madeira. The bust, however, faced the wrath of fans globally - so much so, that sculptor Emanuel Santos has been forced to defend his work.

"It is impossible to please the Greeks and Trojans. Neither did Jesus please everyone," Mr Santos said.

He said that his creation was "not as simple as it seems" to produce, adding that it took him 15 days to complete and that the finished item "was a matter of taste", the Guardian reports.

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Image: Global Media Group/SIPA USA/PA Images

Ronaldo isn't the only celebrity to have their likeness incarcerated in bronze - rather, he joins a long line of terrible replicas...

1. Andy Murray

In 2011, the Shanghai Rolex Masters decided to make terracotta statues of some famous tennis players. Murray's had the unfortunate problem of looking more like his mother than him. 

The level of discomfort is palpable.

See also - Andy Murray: The Lego Edition.

A Lego statue of Great Britain's Andy Murray at Wimbledon on the day of his match against Spain's Rafael Nadal on day eleven of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon. Image: Adam Davy/EMPICS Sport

2. Lucille Ball

Beloved I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball was immortalised in bronze in 2015 - with some terrifying results.

Sculptor David Poulin's 'Scary Lucy' went viral, with residents of the town of setting up a Facebook group dedicated to getting ride of the statue.

"I take full responsibility for 'Scary Lucy,' though by no means was that my intent or did I wish to disparage in any way the memories of the iconic Lucy image," Dave Poulin said in a letter to The Hollywood Reporter at the time.

Last year, 'Scary Lucy' was replaced by the suitably more lovely Lucy by sculptor Carolyn Palmer on what would have been the actor's 105th birthday.

3. Colin Firth

Because who wouldn't want an oversized Mr Darcy leering at you from the water?

A 3.5m statue of Colin Firth's Mr Darcy from the famous BBC version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice resided in Lyme Park, the National Trust-managed estate which played host to his fictional estate in the 1995 mini series.

Visitor experience manager Anthony Willder  said that Mr Darcy was still “looking good” despite spending eight months in a lake but reported that, “unfortunately one of his fingers fell off, but I think that’s a small price to pay for having him back on terra firma.”

The National Trust of Australia decided to acquire it earlier this year - for reasons unknown.

Image: Lynne Cameron/PA Archive/PA Image

4. Sonia O'Sullivan

It's been argued that the life-size statue of Olympic-medalist Sonia O'Sullivan in Cobh, Co Cork resembles a certain Terminator villain. We'll let you deduce which one...

Following the unveiling, Sonia countered detractors of the statue.

“It’s not supposed to be an exact replica of me. I think it’s a kind of image of me and an artwork of me, so it’s a reflection of a happy memory of me that people like to recall and they were there yesterday.

“It brought back a lot of memories for me and for all those people.”


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