A performance at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics sparked mixed reactions.
The Summer Olympics opened on July 26 with a four-hour ceremony that saw athletes gliding down the Seine River and performers re-enacting the internationally historic moment.
The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics
The controversial tableau featured drag queens and dancers seated at a long table in a painting that some thought resembled Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles from “The Last Supper.”
Following the performance, some called the video “mockery” and an “insult to Christians,” while others saw the moment as a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and inclusivity.
On July 28, Anne Decquin, a spokesperson for Paris 2024, apologized “if anyone was offended.”
“Clearly there was no intention to show any disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I believe[artistic director]Thomas Joly was genuinely trying to celebrate the community's tolerance,” Dekan said at a press conference. “I believe this ambition has been achieved and I am truly sorry if any offense was caused.”
Read on to find out why some are comparing this Olympics Opening Ceremony performance to “Last Summer,” and how people are reacting.
Why some people associate the Olympic opening ceremony with the Last Supper
In one scene during the opening ceremony, dinner plates are lifted to reveal a nearly nude Catherine singing in French, while in the background, dancers and drag queens pose along a long table.
The camera first pans across the scene to reveal a halo-wearing figure in front of a DJ's turntables, before the next shot shows a group of performers posing around the rest of the table.
The tables then transformed into a catwalk, with drag queens and models taking to the stage in a tribute to the Parisian fashion scene.
The official Olympics X account shared a photo of the moment, making a reference to Dionysus, the Greek god of winemaking, fertility and ecstasy.
“The interpretation of the Greek god Dionysus helps us to realize the absurdity of human violence.” read a tweet from the official Olympics X account.
However, some people link the painting to the biblical scene in Da Vinci's “The Last Supper,” in which Jesus Christ and his apostles share their final meal before his crucifixion.
Asked about the backlash on July 27, the ceremony's artistic director, Thomas Joly, told a press conference that it was not his intention to be “subversive,” “ridiculous” or “shocking.”
“We wanted to involve everyone, that's all,” he said. “In France, we have creative freedom, artistic freedom. We are lucky to live in a free country, in France. There was no particular message I wanted to convey. France is a republic, and you have the right to love who you want, and the right not to be a cultist. In France we have many rights. That's what I wanted to convey.”
Appearing on French news channel BFM-TV on Sunday, Jolie acknowledged that “The Last Supper” was “not my inspiration.”
“Dionysus comes to this table; he's the Greek god of festivals, so he's here,” Jolie said. “The idea was to have a pagan festival associated with the Olympian gods. I have no desire to mock or belittle anyone.”
Reactions to the Olympic Opening Ceremony performance
Some supported the artistic vision, saying the painting was trying to make a statement about inclusivity.
“We know that the LGBTQ community in France is far from what was shown at the ceremony. Society still has a lot to progress with regards to transgender people. It is terrible that you have to go to court to legally change your identity,” France's InterLGBT representative James Lepellier told The Associated Press.
Catherine told French newspaper Le Parisien in French that the whole ceremony had been “emotional” and “grand.”
“I'm proud of it because this is my culture. We are full of different people, each living in their own way and above all having the right to do so. I loved doing it,” he said. Caterine added that she wanted to convey the following message: “If we are naked, there is no war because there are no weapons.”
“I was surprised,” Le Philippe, who won the third season of “Drag Race France” this year, told The Associated Press.
“I thought it would be a five-minute drag event with queer representation. I was amazed. It started with Lady Gaga, then drag queens, a huge rave and fire in the sky. It was like a coronation all over again. I'm proud to see my friends and queer people on the world stage,” Le Philippe said.
Others, including celebrities, US politicians and Catholic Church leaders, also expressed outrage at the scene.
Actress Candace Cameron Bure, whose husband is a two-time Olympic medalist, called the performance “disturbing.”
“I was tired of watching the opening ceremony where they completely desecrated and mocked the Christian faith with their interpretation of the Last Supper,” she said in an Instagram post on July 28. “It made me very sad. Someone said, 'You shouldn't be sad, you should be angry,' and I said, 'Believe me, I am angry,' but I'm even sadder because I am grieving for souls.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson shared photos of the scene on his X Channel on July 27, calling the spectacle “shocking” and “offensive.”
In a statement, French Catholic leaders called the spectacle a “mockery of Christianity,” according to Reuters.
“Unfortunately, this ceremony contained scenes of mockery and ridicule for Christianity, which we deeply regret,” the French Bishops' Conference said in a statement.
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker gave a controversial commencement speech earlier this year that touched on birth control, COVID-19 restrictions and the role of women. X After the ceremony.
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he that sows to the flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but he that sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life,” he wrote, quoting Galatians 6:7-8.
