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1 October 2025

Tina Turner fans criticise new Tennessee statue unveiled in honour of late singer: ‘An abomination’

"I'm not sure that the person who created this newly unveiled statue of Tina Turner was the 'Simply the Best' person for the job," one quipped

By Aaron Sugg

Tina Turner in black and white on the left and her new statue on the right
Fans react to latest Tina Tuner statue (Images: Alan Messinger / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)/AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

Tina Turner‘s hometown of Brownsville, Tennessee, unveiled a statue on Saturday (27 September) honouring the late singer, but fans are not convinced it captures her simply at her best.

The 10-foot bronze sculpture, located near Nutbush, depicts Turner in her trademark pose, with voluminous hair, a short skirt, and a microphone in hand.

The sculpture was designed by sculptor Fred Ajanogh and serves as a homage to her decades-long music career, which included hits like ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Nutbush City Limits’.

The small urban town is also home to Flagg Grove School, a former one-room schoolhouse attended by a young Anna Mae Bullock, now transformed into a museum housing a collection of the Queen of Rock’s memorabilia.

When did Tina Turner pass away?

Some fans questioned the likeness of the statue to the late singer, who passed away aged 83 in May 2023, saying it does not reflect her at her best.

One fan even called it an abomination, posting to X: “New Tina Turner statue unveiled over the weekend here in Tennessee. Words fail. Great art does that, leaves you speechless. So does an abomination like this.”

Another joked that the designer must have never met the Grammy Award-winning singer: “Well, they likely never met. I positively couldn’t do much better.”

Another wrote, highlighting the statue’s opposite-of-uncanny resemblance: “Every so often there is something so bad, so hideous, so insanely stupid that it unites everyone. Doesn’t matter what you believe in or what your politics are. Today’s uniter is this statue of – checks notes – Tina Turner.”

Using the star’s lyrics, one fan said: “I’m not sure that the person who created this newly unveiled statue of Tina Turner was the ‘Simply the Best’ person for the job!”

Turner died two years ago after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht, near Zurich, Switzerland, where she had lived for nearly 10 years, according to her manager.

Turner was a mother to four sons: Craig and Ronnie, both of whom died while she was still alive, and adoptive mother to Michael and Ike Jr.

Here are some more reactions to show why Turner’s fans truly are ‘The Best’

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