Friday, March 05, 2004

Disney Yanks Janet's Mickey

Oh Mickey, you're so fine...You're so fine, you blow my--oh, wait, maybe you're not that fine after all.


A 6-foot tall, 700-pound gender-bending statue of Mickey Mouse costumed as Janet Jackson was yanked from a commemorative collection after Disney decided that perhaps Jackson wasn't Mickey's ideal role model.



Or perhaps there was a concern that the statue would suffer a wardrobe malfunction?


The statue, clad in a tight black number modeled after an outfit Jackson wore on tour, was part of an exhibit of 75 celebrity-inspired Mickey sculptures commissioned in celebration of the rodent's 75th birthday.


The sculpture was titled "Mickey's Nation 1928," in a nod to Jackson's album Rhythm Nation 1814; 1928 is the year of Mickey's "birth."


Additional celebrities mimicked by Mickey in the exhibit include Shaquille O'Neal (news)'s "Dunk Mouse," Andy Garcia (news)'s "Mambo Mouse" and Tom Hanks (news)' "Space Mouse."


Andre Agassi, Ellen DeGeneres (news) and James Gandolfini (news) also served as Mickey's famous muses, among a host of others.


The statues were unveiled by top Mouse House exec Michael Eisner at Walt Disney World in Orlando last November.


Last week, the statues were packed onto moving vans and shipped off to Philadelphia to greet Disney shareholders at the company's annual meeting--except for the Jackson-themed Mickey.


It seems Disney was concerned that the statue would serve as a reminder of Jackson's not nearly forgotten Super Bowl stunt.


"Considering all the controversy it drew, we talked it over for a couple of days and decided it would be best to replace hers with a new one," Disney spokesman Gary Foster said.


An in-house Disney artist created a new statue, which took the place of "Mickey's Nation 1928."


Following their sojourn in Philadelphia, the statues will embark on a nationwide tour. Jackson's statue will not rejoin the tour.


"Mickey's Nation 1928" wasn't alone in getting dissed by Disney.


At the company's meeting Wednesday, 43 percent of stockholders expressed their discontent with Eisner's management of Disney by withholding their support for him in a vote. As a result, he was stripped of his chairman title though he will remain as CEO.




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