Olympic figure skater Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabaté will once again skate to Minions music after Universal reversed its decision to block his routine.
The studio had previously barred him from using copyrighted audio he said was already approved. But after furious fans flooded social media with memes about the "death of joy" and major outlets picked up the story, Universal reconsidered.
Universal revives Minions figure skater's Olympic routine
Guarino Sabaté broke the news on Monday that Universal Studios had blocked him from using "Universal Fanfare" from the Minions franchise for his Olympic figure skating routine.
The sudden copyright issue threw a massive wrench in the skater's gold medal dreams. Fans, both new and old, loudly objected.
Some called on the public to become loud enough that Universal would hear.
"I need everybody to spread this around until it causes enough controversy that universal has to let him skate to it," wrote @Wakawarrior1, gaining over 22,000 likes.
Soon, all the big news outlets were posting about it.
On Tuesday, Sabaté revealed that Universal had indeed heard the pleas.
"Huge THANK YOU to everyone who reposted, shared, and supported," he wrote on Instagram. "Because of you, Universal Studios reconsidered and officially granted the rights for this one special occasion."
He added that there are still some rights issues with two other music clips, but those are "so close" to getting cleared up.
"AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU!!"
Those who felt that Universal had ruined their 2026 Winter Olympics (and the only good thing going on during this abysmal year so far) expressed relief and triumph. Some even said this rekindled their interest in the lesser-watched Games.
"I wasnt really planning on watching the winter Olympics, but I might honestly check out the figure skating portion just to see him do the routine," said @jurassicimpact1.
Meanwhile, @yuzu4lesbos posted an emotional gif, writing, "figure skating has been saved."
User @winnie_11_ joked that we are now "one step closer to world peace."
There's nothing quite like feeling that we little people do have some agency over huge corporations like Universal.
"Never underestimate the power of complaining about something on the internet!!" declared @LadyMuted.
"And they say that people online can’t make a difference," wrote @smp1333.
And, of course, the top comment by @hankafas: "Bullying works!!"
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