The town of Brownsville, Tennessee, unveiled a 10-foot bronze statue of Tina Turner on September 27, 2025, just miles from her childhood home in Nutbush.
The statue, sculpted by Fred Ajanogha, was designed to capture what he called her “flexibility of movement,” with a microphone in hand, her finger extended, and hair that he likened to “the mane of a lion.”
It now stands near the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, where the old Flagg Grove School Turner’s childhood schoolhouse serves as a museum dedicated to her life and career.
Around 50 donors helped fund the project, including a $150,000 gift from Ford Motor Company, making the unveiling a centerpiece of the annual Tina Turner Heritage Days.
For the local community, the statue was meant to symbolize pride and honor.
But the reaction online has been far more complicated.
Social media erupted almost immediately with criticisms of the likeness.
One user wrote,
“This is an insult to Tina Turner. She deserved better.” Another comment that gained traction simply said, “It doesn’t look like her.” Others went even further, calling the piece “atrocious,” “hideous,” and in some cases “a hate crime.”
Critics have zeroed in on the face, hair, and body proportions, saying the statue fails to capture Turner’s energy or beauty.
Why does this Tina Turner statue look like Ronald McDonald with a shaggy wig? pic.twitter.com/WPMAa3WW1v
— greg (@mistergeezy) September 29, 2025
Some noted that her iconic legs, her dynamic posture, and her unmistakable aura weren’t represented with enough detail.
“This looks like anyone but Tina,” one person posted, while another demanded, “Redo this immediately—she deserves a monument that actually looks like her.”
Not everyone agreed with the backlash. Some praised the effort, pointing out that bronze work rarely achieves perfect photorealism and emphasizing the symbolic value of honoring Turner in her hometown. As one supporter wrote,
“It’s not about exact likeness. It’s about celebrating who she was and where she came from.”
Still, the strong reaction highlights the challenges of memorializing figures as beloved as Tina Turner.
Fans carry vivid mental images of her stage presence her fierce hair, her powerful legs, the electricity in her movements. When those expectations collide with an artist’s interpretation, disappointment can run deep.
For many, especially Black women whose legacies are too often overlooked in public art, the question becomes whether this monument truly reflects her dignity and greatness.
The debate continues to unfold online, with some defending the statue’s symbolism and others demanding something more faithful.
I'm not sure that the person who created this newly unveiled statue of Tina Turner was ……"Simply the Best" person for the job! pic.twitter.com/mRi0I9LHj1
— Matt (@Matt_2607) September 29, 2025
But one thing is clear: Tina Turner’s memory remains larger than life, and the intensity of the response only proves how much she still matters to the people who loved her.
