Spanish skater in Minions costume reflects on music rights dispute, performance

4 days ago 10

The Minions made it to the 2026 Winter Olympics aft a euphony rights quality astir forced Spanish fig skater Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate to alteration his plans.

Sabate donned his yellow-and-blue costume and brought the mischievous tone of the Minions to Milan successful the men's abbreviated programme Tuesday.

"It felt amazing" contempt nerves and an aboriginal mistake, Sabate said aft his show to a soundtrack that starts with peals of laughter from the lovable children's characters, who were introduced arsenic the henchmen of transgression mastermind Gru successful "Despicable Me."

Although the 26-year-old placed 25th retired of 29 skaters, falling 1 spot abbreviated of qualifying for Friday's escaped skate, the Spaniard says he's grateful for the support. In dozens of Instagram stories, Sabate shared messages helium received from from crossed the world, including from erstwhile U.S. Olympic fig skater Adam Rippon who posted a photograph of himself wearing Minion socks.

Sabate said the Minions are a mode to explicit himself "even though I'm a small spot shy astatine the beginning," and the quality has shown conscionable however overmuch enactment helium truly has.

Sabate had been performing the fan-favorite programme each season, reasoning helium already had the due approval. It each changed abruptly past week erstwhile helium revealed he'd been told helium couldn't usage the music.

"When I did my station I was definite I wouldn't bash the Minions," helium said Tuesday. "That's wherefore I did the post, arsenic a mode of informing the people, whoever expects the Minions astatine the Olympics, 'I'm atrocious but don't, unluckily it's not gonna happen.' I can't exposure myself to getting sued."

He was stunned by the outpouring of enactment connected societal media arsenic helium tried to transportation the likes of Universal Studios and instrumentalist and shaper Pharrell Williams to assistance him the rights to skate to a medley of euphony related to the Minions, who person since appeared successful respective "Despicable Me" sequels and their ain spinoffs. The final approval came done Friday.

The rights to the Minions quality belongs to Universal Studios, which is portion of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. NBC, which is broadcasting the Olympics, is besides portion of NBCUniversal.

"I didn't recognize the scope my skating had adjacent extracurricular of the fig skating world, and it helped maine recognize however acold I've come, however acold my skating has brought me," helium said.

Just however acold volition lone descend successful aft the Olympics.

"I haven't had truly the clip to instrumentality everything successful and conscionable admit everything," helium said.

The International Skating Union began allowing euphony with vocals successful 2014. More skaters person been choosing much modern songs for their routines since the 2018 Winter Olympics successful Pyeongchang, but it has besides led to different skaters facing akin problems.

Petr Gumennik of Russia, competing arsenic a neutral athlete, had to alteration the euphony for his abbreviated programme implicit a last-minute rights issue. He dropped euphony from "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer," a intelligence thriller, replacing it with a way from a Russian romanticist epic. Even U.S. champion Amber Glenn had a copyright tangle with a Canadian artist.

What's adjacent for Sabate? He's been answering a batch of instrumentality messages. More are apt connected the way.

"I privation to beryllium the benignant of idiosyncratic that replies to their fans," helium said. "They instrumentality the clip to constitute to you and I privation to instrumentality the clip to answer."

Olympic events are acceptable to proceed done the closing ceremonial connected Feb. 22, and the Paralympics volition instrumentality spot the pursuing month, from March 6 to March 15.

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