The sculpture, entitled “Grounded in the Stars,” was revealed on Wednesday at Times Square, designed by the artist Thomas J. Price. In addition to the statue, the artist’s “Man Series” will be showcased through stop motion animation on the district’s billboards every evening in May. This initiative, described as a “two-part takeover,” aims to highlight bodies that have typically been overlooked on a grand scale, as stated on the Times Square website.
Price said, per the Times Square site.
Times Square highlighted the “woman’s body posture and the effortless nature of her position” in the sculpture, drawing a subtle parallel to Michelangelo’s David. The piece aims to challenge existing perceptions of identity and representation.
Social media users expressed discontent over remarks suggesting that the statue offers a “dramatic counterpoint” to the two current statues of “white men” on pedestals at Times Square.
“In 2021, NYC removed a statue of Thomas Jefferson from City Hall due to ‘racism,’” one person wrote on X. “The city has now erected a huge statue of a rotund woman in Times Square. So, we’re taking down monuments to people who accomplished some of the greatest feats in human history, from which we are all still benefiting, and instead honoring random people who have zero notable contributions. Doomed.”
In 2021, NYC removed a statue of Thomas Jefferson from city hall due to “racism.” The city has now erected a huge statue of a rotund woman in Times Square. So, we’re taking down monuments to people who accomplished some of greatest feats in human history, from which we are all… pic.twitter.com/cC7B2rHzyR
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) May 7, 2025
Another person added, “Another tasteless statue of a generic contemporary woman, this one in the middle of Times Square, meant to ‘respond’ to the other ‘statues of men.’ This is not ‘public art.’ It is untalented, uninspired promotion of tired culture war propaganda that defaces public space.”
While The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh continued, “They tear down statues of American heroes and replace them with statues of random obese black women. That’s because the Left has no historical heroes. Everyone who was born before approximately 2005 is inherently problematic.”
OutKick noted that one of those two white men statues honors World War I hero, Father Francis Duffy. The other George C. Cohan, who’s regarded as the man who “created Broadway.”
“The Times Square Arts association admits its new 12-foot bronze statue of an overweight black woman is supposed to serve as a ‘contrast’ to the two white men who have statues in the neighborhood. One of those white men was a distinguished WWI hero,” the post read.
The Times Square Arts association admits its new 12-foot bronze statue of an overweight black woman is supposed to serve as a “contrast” to the two white men who have statues in the neighborhood. One of those white men was a distinguished WWI hero: pic.twitter.com/7Fp5ciQyjI
— Joe Kinsey (@JoeKinseyexp) May 7, 2025
President Donald Trump recently signed an Executive Order to “review “the “improper” removal of statues over the last five years by radicals on the left, RedState reported.
A White House fact sheet states that their removal or any subsequent changes made to alter them were designed “to perpetuate a false revision of history or improperly minimize or disparage certain historical figures or events.”