Fact Check

Did Madame Tussauds Put Boris Johnson Figure Outside Unemployment Office?

Critics of the outgoing Conservative U.K. prime minister experienced considerable schadenfreude after he announced his resignation, in July 2022.

Published July 8, 2022

TOPSHOT - Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures ahead of a meeting of The North Atlantic Council during the NATO summit at the Ifema congress centre in Madrid, on June 30, 2022. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP) (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images) (Gabriel Boys/AFP via Getty Images))
Image Via Gabriel Boys/AFP via Getty Images)
Claim:
Madame Tussauds in Blackpool, England, placed its wax figure of Boris Johnson outside a local unemployment office to mark the announcement of his resignation.

Fact Check

In July 2022, critics of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson enjoyed a measure of schadenfreude when a series of scandals, and a collapse in support from his government ministers, prompted him to announce his resignation as Conservative party leader and — eventually — as prime minister.

As part of that response, social media users enthusiastically shared photographs that appeared to show a Madame Tussauds wax figure of Johnson, relocated to stand outside an employment office in the north-western seaside town of Blackpool — with the joke being that he would soon find himself unemployed and, in theory, in need of assistance finding work.

On July 7, for example, Twitter users posted pictures of the statue, along with captions that characterized the move as expert trolling on the part of Madame Tussauds:

Madame Tussaud's Blackpool lugging their waxwork Boris to outside the job centre is an absolutely sensational bit of stick

The photos were authentic and not the result of digital manipulation, and the descriptions accurately stated that Madame Tussauds in Blackpool had deliberately placed their figure of Johnson outside a nearby Jobcentre Plus, as a joke or publicity stunt. Our rating is "True."

PA Media photographer Peter Byrne took the photographs on July 7, outside the Jobcentre Plus at 8 Albert Rd. in Blackpool — a two-minute drive from Madame Tussauds:

Tussauds wax figure of Boris Johnson outside Job Centre Plus

On Twitter, Madame Tussauds in Blackpool acknowledged its stunt the following day:

The Johnson figure was unveiled in Blackpool only a few months ago, with general manager Stuart Jarman saying at the time:

Boris Johnson’s figure has proven to be an extremely popular attraction at our sister site in London, and we thought it only right that we ‘level up’ and have our very own wax work of the Prime Minister for our visitors to enjoy too.

Madame Tussauds has a track record of using cheeky political symbolism to gain publicity for its attractions.

In November 2020, for example, around the time of Joe Biden's U.S. presidential election win, the London museum re-dressed its figure of the outgoing White House resident Donald Trump in golfing attire, while the Berlin location rather more bluntly placed its Trump statute in a dumpster, along with a sign reading "Dump Trump."


Sources

Boris Johnson Immortalised in Wax at Madame Tussauds. https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/lifestyle/staycation/boris-johnson-immortalised-in-wax-at-madame-tussauds-3621649. Accessed 8 July 2022.

“Chris Pincher: How No 10 Changed Its Story on What Boris Johnson Knew.” BBC News, 5 July 2022. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/62048687.

“Did Madame Tussauds Dress Trump Statue in Golf Attire After Election Defeat?” Snopes.Com, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-madame-tussauds-golf-election/. Accessed 8 July 2022.

“Did Madame Tussauds in Berlin Place Trump Wax Figure in Dumpster?” Snopes.Com, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/madame-tussauds-dump-trump/. Accessed 8 July 2022.

Penna, Dominic, and Matthew Robinson. “Full List of Tories Who Have Called for Boris Johnson to Resign over Partygate and Pincher.” The Telegraph, 6 July 2022. www.telegraph.co.uk, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/07/06/tory-mps-calling-boris-johnson-resign-chris-pincher-scandal/.

Smout, Alistair, and Kylie Maclellan. “Factbox: The Many Scandals of Boris Johnson’s Premiership.” Reuters, 7 July 2022. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/many-scandals-boris-johnsons-premiership-2022-07-06/.

Dan Mac Guill is a former writer for Snopes.