Most sports fans are probably looking forward to the Super Bowl this weekend, but for me, the big sporting event worth celebrating is a little bit closer. The Winter Olympics get underway on Friday, which means two weeks of a lot of great winter sports that don’t normally get TV time. Unfortunately, one moment that was looking like a highlight, now won’t be happening at all.
A Minions-Themed Olympic Performance Just Got Canned
Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté is a Spanish figure skater who, one can imagine, was looking forward to competing on the Olympic stage. This will be his first Olympic competition, so he was surely looking forward to showing what he can do. Unfortunately, he just informed fans on Instagram that he can’t use his planned short program because the music is from the Despicable Me/Minions franchise, and it runs afoul of copyright rules. He wrote…
I followed all required procedures and submitted my music through the ISU ClicknClear system back in August, and I competed with this program throughout the entire season. Unfortunately, just days before the Olympic Inauguration, I was informed that I am no longer permitted to use this program due to copyright clearance issues.
Needless to say, it’s got to be a little frustrating to discover now that you have to switch the plan for your short program at the last minute. Especially considering he’s been using the program, which has him dress in yellow and blue overalls, looking like a very tall Minion, all season. He looks great…
Considering the music was submitted months ago, it’s all the more infuriating that this fell apart now, as Sabaté would have had time to change things or come up with a new routine if he’d been told months ago that the music didn’t work. Does anybody know anybody at Illumination or Universal who can get this approved?
Considering that Comcast owns both Universal, which owns Illumination, and NBC, which is broadcasting the Olympics, this seems like something that could be worked out. Of course, since we're dealing with international law, there could be all sorts of weird things going on.
A Dune Themed Skate May Still Happen
While a Minions skate is apparently cancelled, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be other skating routines done with a bit of movie magic. It turns out Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan does a short program to music from Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies, and he does it wearing a stillsuit.
Misha's short program to the "Dune" soundtrack at the 2026 4CC!4Lz+3T, 3A (hand down), 4T90.55 pic.twitter.com/492RESt4HJJanuary 24, 2026
Honestly, I need to see both of these performances at the Olympics. Hopefully, the Dune skater didn’t have the same problem and recently discovered he’s lost his music. Copyright issues are important, but nobody is profiting from the use of this music. Using music people know and like, and creating entertaining skates, will only increase the popularity of both skating and the music being used.
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