8-foot-tall Ruth Bader Ginsburg Statue Perplexes As Much As MLK Statue

It is a rough era for commemorative statues, as just weeks after Boston unveiled a confusing "tribute" to Martin Luther King called The Embrace, New York City has followed up with an 8-foot-tall "tribute" to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that many commenters feel resembles a "literal demon."

A new statue atop a New York City courthouse. The artist says it’s part of an “urgent and necessary cultural reckoning underway as New York reconsiders traditional representations of power in public spaces and recasts civic structures to better reflect 21st-century social mores.” pic.twitter.com/4IFRj7hCsf

— Andrew Beck (@AndrewBeckUSA) January 25, 2023

The piece stands outside a New York City courthouse and was done by artist Shahzia Sikander, who said the statue is not meant to resemble Ginsburg but is meant to represent "a fierce woman and a form of resistance in a space that has historically been dominated by patriarchal representation."

This metaphor was evidently lost on most viewers who instead saw the statue's tentacle arms, horn-shaped braids, and lotus flower base and believed it looked more like a "satanic golden medusa demon," as it was put by NYC councilwoman Vickie Paladino.

Others on social media echoed such sentiments, with many noting that such a "tribute" to RBG probably wouldn't be far off from the sort of depiction her critics would make. As if to prove that point, Tucker Carlson quipped that perhaps the statue was meant to "honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her unflinching support for child sacrifice."

If you asked critics of RBG (who this statue is intended to honor) to design a statue a statue of her . . . I'm not sure even they'd go as literal with the demon reference. https://t.co/7ahYH5IMfp pic.twitter.com/duNRSFsECs

— Flappr (@flapprdotnet) January 25, 2023

Tucker on NYC's new abortion statue: "The City of New York has just erected a statue on top of a courthouse that can only be described as demonic. Apparently it's supposed to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her unflinching support for child sacrifice." pic.twitter.com/1GEyVaxS7E

— American Firebrand (@AmFirebrand) January 27, 2023

Some online also drew different comparisons to characters from pop culture — none of them particularly flattering.

They wanted to honor RBG, so they designed a statue that looks like a mid-game boss out of Resident Evil. https://t.co/zYyZNs1yTZ pic.twitter.com/QRKjp8hIym

— bartleby (@ElderBartleby) January 25, 2023

NYC just put this statue atop a courthouse.

It represents resistance to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Notice the RBG collar.

It looks like something Indiana Jones found in a secret chamber beneath an ancient Babylonian temple. The only thing missing is glowing red eyes. pic.twitter.com/dc32vgR4uX

— Fr. Alex (@AlexOlszewski) January 26, 2023

New York courthouse now features a statue honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Medusa the Gorgon, and Doc Ock from "Spiderman."https://t.co/LwNUHWEabI

— Steve Sailer (@Steve_Sailer) January 26, 2023

For now, New York City will have to live with its brand-new Medusa RBG looking down on its citizens. In the meantime, perhaps a moratorium on tribute statues for deceased, famous icons from politics is in order until we figure out how to stop this from happening over and over.