Spanish figure skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté has been granted permission to use his mix of music from the Minions during his Olympic set after last-minute copyright issues put the plan on thin ice.
#LetTheMinionsSkate and ‘Minionsgate’ had been trending on social media in support of the skater after Universal Pictures, who own the ‘Despicable Me’ and ‘Minions’ franchise, had not expressed permission in time for Sabaté’s debut Olympic debut at Milan Cortina 2026.
In a statement acknowledging the copyright issues, the skater said he wanted to use the Minions theming as a way to “bring joy and fun” to the sport and to show that “ice skating as a male Olympic figure skater can also be fun”.
On February 6th, hours before the games were set to start, Sabaté confirmed Universal had granted permission.
“We have made it: we have obtained the licences for all four musical pieces, and I will be able to skate my Minions program at the Winter Olympics,” the skater wrote in an Instagram post.
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Iconic tunes
The four pieces in question are: ‘Universal Fanfare’, Universal Picture’s iconic theme tune as performed by the Minions, ‘Vicious Funk’, an instrumental track, ‘Freedom’ featuring Pharrell Williams, and ‘Papaya’ by DJ Juan Alcaraz.
In an ode to the iconic yellow creatures, Sabaté will also sport a banana-yellow t-shirt and blue overall during his set.
“My only goal is to give my very best on the ice and deliver a program worthy of the affection I have received from people all around the world,” added the skater in reaction to the outpour on social media and in the press.
“I am deeply moved by the love shown to a small skater from a small federation”.
Sabaté will compete on February 10th when we will see whether the judges will find the Minions-inspired piece Gru-vy enough to win a coveted Olympic medal.
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