Rooney or Gorbachev? Polish Waxwork Baffles Fans
A wax figure of footballing legend Wayne Rooney, displayed at the Tower of Secrets Wax Museum in Gdansk, Poland, has sparked a wave of baffled reactions online, with many claiming it bears a striking resemblance to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
The figure, depicting Rooney in a red Adidas windbreaker, presents a much thinner frame, balding wisps of hair, patchy facial stubble, and pasty skin, leading to a flurry of humorous comments on Reddit.
A photo of the waxwork, posted on the r/CasualUK subreddit, garnered over 1,000 responses, with users drawing comparisons to a diverse range of characters, from Thunderbirds puppets to Star Trek's Neelix.
"Starfleet, but run by Birmingham City Council," quipped one user, while another suggested, "More like Neelix from Voyager." Comparisons to "Team America" puppets and "Thunderbirds" figures were also rife.
Some even proposed the waxwork to be an older, alternate timeline version of Rooney, with one user suggesting, "It's like an alternate timeline, in which Wayne suffers a career-ending injury very early on and spends the next 40 years down the men's club. Smoking a lot."
The "Gorbachev" comparison, however, stood out, with one fan remarking, "Looks more like Gorbachev."
Others were simply terrified by the figure's appearance. "Wow, that is incredibly awful," wrote one user, while another remarked, "I don't know about you but wax figures are scary."
This isn't the first time a wax figure has caused a stir. Earlier this year, a Dublin museum unveiled a waxwork of the late singer Sinéad O'Connor that was widely criticised for its lack of likeness. The museum has since pledged to create a more accurate representation, acknowledging that the initial figure "did not meet our high standards or the expectations of Sinéad's devoted fans."
Whether the Rooney waxwork will undergo a similar makeover remains to be seen, but for now, it serves as a reminder that even the most famous figures can be rendered unrecognisable in the world of wax.
