What's the Minions drama at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
The first major drama of the 2026 Winter Olympics has arrived before the opening ceremony, and the Minions are at the scene of the crime.
Spanish figure skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté said Tuesday that he received last-minute clearance from Universal to use music from the Minions in his short program after copyright concerns briefly derailed his Olympic program. While the situation is ongoing, and he doesn't have all of the music cleared, it's enough to officially say: The Minions are headed to the Olympics.
Why was Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté's Minions music initially blocked?
Just days earlier, Sabaté, 26, revealed on Instagram that he was no longer permitted to skate to the music in his Minions short program at the Milan-Cortina Games. The routine combines multiple songs and sound bites from the Minions franchise: It begins with the Universal theme sung by the Minions, includes Pharrell Williams' "Freedom" from Despicable Me 3, and ends with bass-heavy "Papaya (Vaya Papayas)," which features the Minions singing about bananas and papayas in Minion language.
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Sabaté performed this program all season, and had submitted it for approval through the International Skating Union’s ClicknClear system back in August.
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Despite this, the skater said he was informed of the issue late last week, leaving him scrambling to consider reworking his routine on the eve of his Olympic debut.
"Finding this out last Friday, so close to the biggest competition of my life, was incredibly disappointing," Sabaté wrote. "Nevertheless, I will face this challenge head-on and do everything I can to make the best of this situation."
How did the Minions music get cleared for the Olympics?
The decision was reversed after people rallied online, questioning how the music could be blocked so close to the Games and urging the rights holder to intervene. (The people need their Minions — and, frankly, how dare laws and rules get in the way of whimsy?) On Tuesday, Sabaté confirmed via his Instagram Story that Universal had granted him permission to use the soundtrack for what he described as "this one special occasion."
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"Huge THANK YOU to everyone who reposted, shared, and supported," Sabaté wrote. "Because of you, Universal Studios reconsidered and officially granted the rights."
Figure skating analyst Jackie Wong, reporting from the Milan-Cortina Games, noted that while only two of the four musical cuts in Sabaté's program have been cleared so far, the most difficult hurdle has been resolved. "The Universal one at the beginning was the trickiest," he wrote on X, "and that was the one they got special clearance for."
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As for Sabaté, he's just relieved that the routine's centerpiece has been saved. "I'm so happy to see that the minions hitting Olympic ice is becoming real again!!" he wrote on IG. "I'll keep you posted."
How did fans influence Universal's decision to approve the music?
Simply, the internet did what it does best and bullied Universal into relenting. Figure skating fans and those fond of joy flooded social media with posts and pleas demanding that Sabaté get his Minions music back.
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What Minions song is Sabaté skating to?
There are multiple, actually. It begins with the Universal theme sung by the Minions, which should be a familiar sound to anyone who has ever seen a Minions film. The program also features Pharrell Williams' "Freedom" from Despicable Me 3 and ends with "Papaya (Vaya Papayas)" from Juan Alcaraz and The Minions — who share artist, writing, arranging, production, and engineering credits on the song, according to EW.
Why did Sabaté choose Minions music for his Olympic program?
Sabaté has skated to songs from the Minions animated film franchise all season, performing his short program in a yellow-and-blue costume inspired by the characters. He previously said the routine was designed to bring joy and a playful style to the ice while still meeting every required technical element.
"This season I competed with my Minions short program to bring joy and a playful style to the ice," Sabaté wrote earlier this week on Instagram, adding that the program was meant to show "that skating as a male Olympic figure skater can be fun."
When will Sabaté compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
While the Milan-Cortina Winter Games open on Friday, Feb. 6, the six-time Spanish men's champion is set to make his 2026 Winter Olympics debut alongside the Minions during the men's single skating short program competition on Feb. 10.
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Crystal Bell is the Culture Editor at Mashable. She oversees the site's coverage of the creator economy, digital spaces, and internet trends, focusing on how young people engage with others and themselves online. She is particularly interested in how social media platforms shape our online and offline identities.
She was formerly the entertainment director at MTV News, where she helped the brand expand its coverage of extremely online fan culture and K-pop across its platforms. You can find her work in Teen Vogue, PAPER, NYLON, ELLE, Glamour, NME, W, The FADER, and elsewhere on the internet.
She's exceptionally fluent in fandom and will gladly make you a K-pop playlist and/or provide anime recommendations upon request. Crystal lives in New York City with her two black cats, Howl and Sophie.
