The mayor of Lucille Ball's home town has said he will hire a new sculptor to "fix" the village's much-maligned statue of the 1950s sitcom star after criticism of the public artwork drew worldwide attention.

Mayor Scott Schrecengost, mayor of Celoron in western New York, said he has spoken with a sculptor who has agreed to fix the life-size bronze statue for less than the $10,000 quoted previously by the original sculptor, Dave Poulin.

The mayor's announcement comes only hours after Poulin told the Associated Press he was willing to create a new statue for free.

The mayor said he does not want Poulin to redo the work, and the sculptor told the AP he was fine with that decision.

Critics of the statue dubbed it Scary Lucy, saying it bears little resemblance to the I Love Lucy star.

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