The expected lavish displays during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics was mored with controversy and caused fury among the populist and religious everywhere, with critics especially unhappy about an apparent depiction of the Last Supper featuring drag performers.
A fashion show at the ceremony included a scene that resembled a modern re-creation of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting, French actor and singer Philippe Katerine appeared as the Greek god Dionysus, painted blue and wearing little more than a bunch of flowers covering his modesty.
While a small portion of fans loved this unabashed display of French camp and kitsch, others — particularly those who espouse conservative or Christian beliefs — were not happy with it.
"In this scene from the Olympic opening ceremony, the famous painting of The Last Supper is recreated, but Jesus is replaced with an obese woman, while queer and trans figures (including a child!) depict her apostles," Jenna Ellis, former 2020 campaign attorney to Donald Trump, told her 1 million followers on X.
She described the ceremony as containing "overt pagan and satanic symbolism."
The Last Supper refers to the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his 12 apostles before he was crucified. It’s also a popular subject in Christian art, most famously depicted by da Vinci, who painted a scene that captured the apostles’ reaction to Jesus’ announcement of his betrayal.
Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony, defended the production when asked at a news conference Saturday about some of the backlash. Jolly said he was unaware of the criticism and wanted to display "inclusion."
"When we want to include everyone and not exclude anyone, questions are raised," he said at an International Olympic Committee media briefing.
"Our subject was not to be subversive. We never wanted to be subversive. We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together," he continued.
"We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that. In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn’t have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are republic, we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshippers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey."