Before all the action at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Spanish figure skater Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate faced this last-minute copyright battle over music from the “Minions” film franchise. Followed by a public outcry, the 26-year-old received approval from Universal Studios itself. However, the turmoil was noticed by this American figure skater, who chimed in, describing this persistent issue.

“First we get a website or some sort of application to track things. And then once we’re like, ‘OK, yeah, it’s cleared. It’s good, then it’s not a reliable source anymore. OK, then what do we do?” three-time U.S. Champion Amber Glenn stated, as reported by the Associated Press.

She was very clear with the problems that her fellow figure skaters go through, stating, “And especially as an athlete, this is not something that we should be worrying about. That’s not my job. My job is to train and perform. The legal rights, the broadcast rights? All this different stuff, that’s not my problem.”

The financial stakes that Glenn mentioned are quite high, even for Winter Olympics athletes. Back in the Beijing Games in 2022, the American pair Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier faced a copyright claim over their usage of the House of the Rising Sun’s cover version. While the case was later settled, as per The Guardian, the amount was around $1.4 million. And for Olympians, who are already financially strained, such a sum can easily destroy their careers.

“It’s not like we’re a TV show and we’re playing music in the background for an emotional scene. We’re going out there and performing as athletes. It just feels like a cash grab for different companies, and it’s really upsetting that they can’t just appreciate that their music has inspired something creative,” Glenn mentioned.

While such issues happen almost every Winter Olympics cycle, following his own problems getting resolved, the Spaniard issued a heartfelt statement on his social media.

Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate’s Winter Olympics dream was saved

Figure skaters like Amber Glenn and the entire community surely stepped in to make the entire world aware of the issues that these athletes go through. Eventually, Universal Studios granted Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate the rights to perform his “Minions” program at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, and the Spaniard was beyond words.

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“Huge THANK YOU to everyone who reposted, shared, and supported 💙 Because of you, Universal Studios reconsidered and officially granted the rights for this one special occasion,” the 26-year-old wrote on Instagram.

“There are still a couple things to be tied up with the other 2 musics of the program but we are so close to accomplishing it! AND IT’S ALL THANKS TO YOU!! ❤️💯 I’m so happy to see that the minions hitting Olympic ice is becoming real again!! I’ll keep you posted!”

The major issue stemmed from the Papaya (Vaya Papayas) track by Juan Alcaraz, which featured the Minions’ iconic vocals. This song was among the other three tracks, which were “Universal Fanfare” from Minions, “Vicious Funk” by Heitor Pereira, and “Freedom” by Pharrell Williams. And since the franchise is owned by Illumination under Universal Studios, the company’s direct approval helped Sabate avoid any other lengthy process of getting his program a nod.

So, with the men’s short program scheduled for February 10 at the Forum di Milano, the Spaniard can relax and dedicate his remaining time to practice rather than adapting to new tunes.