One of the most famous pieces in its collection, "Lion Attacking a Dromedary" (formerly "Lion Attaquant un Dromadaire"/"Arab Courier Attacked by Lions" from 1867-2016) has been permanently taken off of display as of October 2023, after a reworking of the museum's human remains ethics policy. Human remains were confirmed to be inside during its 2017 restoration, and it was taken off display in 2020 due to Black Lives Matter protests. (Using the terror and death of a brown man as spectacle has not sat well, for good reason, especially after the skull was discovered inside of the sculpt.) However, it was returned in 2021 with the above "Challenging the Art" sign added to the side of the glass case. The new display as-of today has frosted glass covering the whole of the diorama*.

Even back in 1892 when it was purchased by the museum, it was considered "too theatrical", nearly enough to not be worth putting on display for being too sensationalist and not a factional depiction of real life. To quote Wikipedia:

"The diorama is inaccurate both scientifically and anthropologically and is considered to be a work of fiction. Anthropologists, zoologists, and museum studies commentators have been critical of the piece since the 1890s. The Smithsonian Institution questioned the propriety of showing such a sensationalist diorama in 1892. Lion Attacking a Dromedary was removed from the American Museum of Natural History in 1898 and they considered destroying it because the museum felt that the diorama was "too emotional and distracting for educational purposes.""

As of today, the head has been removed from the mannequin inside the case, and it is currently undergoing DNA analysis in hopes of repatriating the remains to their country of origin. While the lions used in the scene are an extinct subspecies, they and the camel will not be put back on display to the general public, though may be used by researchers behind the scenes. The mismatched clothes on the mannequin will also stay in the museum's collection.

CMNH does currently display several life casts and sculpts of humans, particularly in their Hall of American Indians and Hall of Arctic Life. Notably, these have been made with the consent of the person portrayed, and credit of the models is listed on signage.