Why has the new sculpture of a Black American woman in Times Square prompted mass outrage?
When British sculptor Thomas J Price unveiled his 2023 statue of a 12-foot tall Black woman cast in bronze in New York City’s Times Square, he likely couldn’t have predicted the myriad of reactions it was going to receive. Grounded in the Stars depicts an average Black American woman, casually dressed, taking up the space she deserves. So, why has her existence prompted such a volatile response? And has Price’s creation ended up offending the very group of people it was supposed to represent?
Almost immediately after the statue took its pride of place in New York’s busy hub, tourists and locals alike began humiliating it. Men took photos groping the statue, others created memes of the woman holding buckets of chicken, attaching crude captions. X began filling up with disgusting, racially-motivated posts—all mocking the statue, deeming it devoid of beauty, and reducing it to a harmful stereotype.
A 12-ft bronze statue by Thomas J Price was unveiled in Times Square, and the backlash says everything. This society still resents anyone who dares to exist outside narrow ideas of beauty, worth, or visibility. This country has such a long way to go to grow up. pic.twitter.com/kYljuJMAi7
— Rev. Dr. Yvette Wilson-Barnes, J.D. (@ywilsond) May 10, 2025
In a different corner of the internet, some Black women created a petition to try and get the statue removed. These women had now become victims themselves of racist attacks and were imploring officials to take action.
Petition by @kuloso101 to get the statue in Times Square that is subjecting Black women to vitriolic hatred and violence taken down: https://t.co/dcFBFBC7Q9 pic.twitter.com/wk9aklVGPh
— Sathi🔻 (@sathixpatel) May 11, 2025
The organisation behind the petition, Free Black Thought, wrote on X: “This 12-foot statue, while possibly intended to celebrate Black women, is instead perpetuating harmful stereotypes and triggering a wave of racist harassment both online and in real life. Since its unveiling, Black women across the internet have become targets of hate, mockery, and violence that stems directly from the way this statue represents us.”
“Black women did not ask for this statue. Black women were not consulted. And now, we are the ones paying the emotional, mental, and social cost for it,” the post continued.
"As a young Black woman, I am calling for the immediate removal of the “Grounded in the Stars” statue by a black man named Thomas J Price currently on display in Times Square.
This 12-foot statue, while possibly intended to celebrate Black women, is instead perpetuating harmful… pic.twitter.com/kywtPj8tuV
— Free Black Thought (@FreeBlckThought) May 12, 2025
However, there were also a number of Black women who began to take to social media to express their love for the statue, and the way it made them feel. One TikTok creator poignantly shared this in a video that currently has over 130,000 views. The podcast host, @saronthings, stated: “My first reaction to seeing that statue was ‘this is so f*cking epic.’ To take the average Black American woman and make her larger than life, cast her in bronze, signified to me that your average Black American woman is extraordinary by default. It felt thoughtful and inspired and heartfelt.”
@saronthings Replying to @Hahahhahaha No I was confused by the response to the statue and then I was sad… it’s quickly turning to anger. #popculture #blacktiktok #timessquare #nyc #thomasjprice #arttok
♬ original sound - saron
“It’s not about respectability politics. It’s not about what you want the average Black American woman to look like. This is what she looks like and she’s perfect,” Saron continued.
In a discussion with Interview Magazine, Price spoke about the meaning behind this piece, and indeed the somewhat vacant nature of the sculptures he’s become globally renowned for: “They’re not blankly staring; I always talk about them being self-contained. They’re not looking to engage or for validation. They exist whether or not the viewer is there. They look beyond the viewer.”
As a white woman, I can only share the thoughts and perspectives of Black women I’ve seen online, and indeed communicate the vision of the artist. Price has spoken at length with different publications about how his creations have always been seen as inherently political in nature.
In an interview with The Art Newspaper, Price noted: “If these fictional characters are from a gender or perceived race that you have decided should not be at this level, and suddenly you see them presented in their gloriousness, it challenges people’s internal landscapes. But this is so important for us to do, we should all be doing this to ourselves daily. So this is my little gesture to present an opportunity for people to question their assumptions about the world we live in.”
