26-foot Marilyn Monroe statue in Palm Springs set to be moved following controversy
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
- A 26-foot statue of Marilyn Monroe that "up-skirts" the movie star is set to be relocated in Palm Springs.
- It was put up outside Palm Springs Art Museum in 2021.
- The back of the statue, which faces the Palm Springs Art Museum, shows Monroe's exposed underwear.
A controversial statue of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe in Palm Springs is set to be moved after causing uproar among locals and visitors.
The 26-foot-tall "Forever Marilyn" sculpture recreates the famous scene from the 1955 movie "The Seven Year Itch," in which Monroe's dress is blown up as she stands over a New York City subway grate.
The statue has been a controversial topic since it was returned to Palm Springs in 2021, with some locals arguing that it was inappropriate and sexist.
Following complaints and a lawsuit against the city, the statue will be relocated to another spot within the boundaries of Downtown Park, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The statue is currently at the edge of the park, next to the Palm Springs Art Museum.
Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
"The City Council is very pleased to have found a satisfactory solution to this issue, which has divided so many within our community," the city's mayor, Jeffrey Bernstein, said in a statement, adding that the statue would be moved to "a location to be determined in the Downtown Park."
Created in 2011 by sculptor Seward Johnson, the statue has been displayed in a number of locations across the US, as well as in Australia.
The artwork was purchased for $1 million by the Palm Springs-based tourism group PS Resorts in 2020, the Art Newspaper reported.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
The return of the statue in 2021 was met with protests, with attendees holding up placards reading "It's not nostalgia, it's misogyny" and "Marilyn anywhere but here."
"The 26-foot-tall 'statue' of Marilyn Monroe is designed for viewers to walk in between the legs, look up her dress and snap a picture of her crotch or buttocks for fun," Emiliana Guereca, founder of the Women's March Foundation, said in a statement at the time, per CBS News.
"It is sexist, exploitative and misogynistic. Even in death, Marilyn has no peace," she added.