Heat legend Dwyane Wade has spoken honestly about the feedback about his statue that was unveiled over the weekend.
There were thousands of memes created and posted on to social media following the unveiling because the face didn’t seem to quite resemble D-Wade’s, so naturally, the internet had a field day.
One day later, Wade defended the depiction, while acknowledging the likeness isn’t really there.
“If I wanted it to look like me, I’d just stand outside the arena and y’all can take photos,” Wade said Monday. “It don’t need to look like me. It’s the artistic version of a moment that happened that we’re trying to cement.”
As for the backlash online, he’s taking it all in his stride.
“I care, but I don’t,” Wade said. “The social media world is about opinions. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone, use y’all opinions. Please talk more about us. Talk more about a statue, come on down to see it, take some photos, send some memes. We don’t care.”
Later on Monday during the halftime ceremony of the Heat v Pistons game, Wade also defended the work of the artist there while addressing the crowd.
“There’s only a few organizations that have a statue outside. There’s not even 15 players who played this game of basketball that have a statue outside. We — we — have a statue outside,” Wade told the crowd. “So, for me to be the vessel that’s used, to be the chosen one, I’m proud of it. I’m proud because we worked very, very, very hard to create an image that will stand for a very long time that expresses what the Miami Heat, my family and our fan base is about.
“So, don’t let nobody talk about our house. Because this is our house. They’re on the outside. Leave them out there.”