A 30-foot tall bronze statue of South African president Nelson Mandela was unveiled on the Union Grounds of Pretoria, South Africa, ten days after Mandela’s death in December 2013. The artists, Ruhan Janse van Vuuren and Andre Prinsloo, were not allowed to engrave their names on their work.
After the unveiling, government officials spotted a little brass rabbit inside Mandela’s right ear – the sculptors’ trademark. The Afrikaans word for rabbit is haas, and represents the speed at which their work was completed.
The government officials were not amused.
“We don’t think it’s appropriate because
Nelson Mandela never had a rabbit in his ear.”
–Government spokesman Mogomotsi Mogodiri.
The sculptors were made to apologize and removed the offensive bunny.
Tacky Raccoons 