A new twist has emerged for "Comedian", the most famous and controversial work by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. The Centre Pompidou in Metz, eastern France, reported the theft of the installation after a security guard noticed the banana on public display was missing. The work, which has become a contemporary art icon, is a plain banana stuck to the wall with silver tape. Since its debut at Art Basel in Miami in 2019, it has provoked controversy, debate, and provocation. The French Museum stressed that the work's value is not in the fruit, which is replaced every three days, but in the authenticity certificate and the artistic procedure that governs its display. This is the second occurrence of this nature at the Pompidou. In July of last year, a visitor ate the banana in public and subsequently claimed responsibility for the incident on social media. At the time, the museum did not submit a complaint, but this time, the decision was different because the culprit of the theft had not been identified. Similar instances have occurred throughout the "Comedian" series' existence. In 2019, another artist ate the banana as part of a performance challenging the work's worth, which was over $120,000 at the time. In 2024, Justin Sun, the inventor of the cryptocurrency platform Tron, paid more than $5 million for one of the three existing samples, and a few days later ate the banana in front of journalists and influencers. These instances contributed to Cattelan's work being one of the most widely debated symbols of modern art.