Spanish figure skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté debuted his new Minions-themed short program at the beginning of the 2025-26 season. His routine uses a medley of four Minions inspired songs, including Pharrell’s Freedom from Despicable Me 3. Following ISU regulations, he submitted his music for clearance (ISU is the international governing body for competitive ice skating and regulates competitions like the World Championships and Grand Prix events).
On Friday, January 30, he was informed that his music was not cleared for the Olympics due to Universal Studios not giving permission. He said he had been informed that he was “no longer permitted to use this program due to copyright clearance issues.” On Monday, he posted the following message in his IG stories: “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. Finding this out last Friday, so close to the biggest competition of my life, was incredibly disappointing. Nevertheless, I will face this challenge head-on and do everything I can to make the best of the situation.”
On Tuesday, he posted an update that said due to the public outcry, Universal had reconsidered and were granting permission “for this one special occasion.”
🇪🇸 Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté says that due to the support he’s received Universal Studios have reconsidered and granted the rights for his Minions program, there are still a couple of things to be tied up but he is very close to clearing it. pic.twitter.com/FkgNCQGl8t
— Anything GOEs (@AnythingGOE) February 3, 2026
In an interview, American ice skater Amber Glenn said that three of Guarino Sabaté’s Minions songs had been cleared and the Pharrell song was the song that had not been cleared yet.
It wasn’t until TODAY that Guarino Sabaté confirmed that all of the clearances had been officially approved, so this poor Olympic athlete had an entire week of unnecessary stress over his music and in the end, Universal granted permission because they knew they looked like jerks.
