Veronika Kyrylenko | The New American
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris last Friday sparked significant controversy with its performance depicting Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting “The Last Supper.” The display drew backlash from notable religious and political figures and advertisers, as well as celebrities. The official Olympics account appears to have removed the opening-ceremony footage from its YouTube page due to the widespread criticism.
The tableau vivant featured drag queens dressed in elaborate, flamboyant costumes (which, in some cases, allowed for private parts to be seen by the public), as well as extravagant wigs, heavy makeup, and glittering gowns. Each drag queen portrayed one of the Twelve Apostles at Jesus’ last meal before His crucifixion.
Jesus Christ was personified by French DJ Barbara Butch, a self-described “fat, Jewish queer lesbian.”
The display also featured a naked “transgender” performer depicting the pagan god Dionysus. According to the organizers, that was supposed to make people “aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”
The scene was augmented with high-tech multimedia elements, including holographic projections and modern dance routines.
Politicians
The performance quickly drew sharp criticism from various quarters.
Politicians, particularly from conservative and religious backgrounds, condemned the display as disrespectful and inappropriate. French politician Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the France Unbowed party, felt particularly disheartened and marveled that the Olympics would risk offending billions of Christians.
“Last night’s mockery of the Last Supper was shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world who watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, wrote House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). “The war on our faith and traditional values knows no bounds today. But we know that truth and virtue will always prevail.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) described the ceremony as “satanic, trans, and occult,” and lambasted the French Olympic Committee for apparently attempting to delete the video footage from its channels.
At the same time, other prominent figures, such as first lady Jill Biden, found the event “spectacular.”
Religious Leaders
Religious leaders were particularly vocal in their disapproval.
The French Bishops Conference expressed mixed feelings about the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony. They acknowledged the event as a “marvelous display of beauty and joy, rich in emotion and universally acclaimed.” However, they also regretted that it “unfortunately included scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity.”
According to the Catholic Herald,
Leading figures in the Catholic Church took to social media to express their sorrow at what occurred, with some also placing it in a wider and concerning context.
“Secular fundamentalism has now infiltrated the Olympics, even to the point of blaspheming the religion of over a billion people,” Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco wrote on X. “Would they do that with any other religion?”
Leaders from other Christian denominations, including the Russian Orthodox Church, also condemned the performance, calling it sacrilegious and urging the organizers to issue an apology.
Muslim leaders chimed in, too. Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, condemned the displaying of Jesus in a “barbaric, reckless manner that vexes believers in religions and travesties morals and noble human values.”
Pope Francis has not made any direct remarks about the performance. However, in his Sunday “Gospel of the Day” post, he mentioned the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, highlighting the events leading up to His betrayal, trial, and crucifixion.
Christian satirical news site the Babylon Bee came up with a story announcing, “Sodom and Gomorrah Set to Host 2028 Olympics.”
Celebrities
The controversy also extended to the world of celebrities.
Donald Trump Jr. re-posted a snapshot from the performance described as “satanic,” noting, “They’re not even pretending anymore.”
“I am sorry to say to ALL the world’s GREATEST ATHLETES, I wish you ALL THE BEST, but I cannot watch an Olympics that disrespects Christianity and openly celebrates Satan,” wrote actor Rob Schneider.
“This was extremely disrespectful to Christians,” wrote Elon Musk in response to a post calling on others to “reject [the] degeneracy” of the Olympics.
Popular British journalist Piers Morgan said that the decision to mock Christianity with a drag-queen performance was “appalling.”
Commenting on the Olympics “Last Supper” portrayal, famed Hollywood fitness coach and lesbian Jillian Michaels wrote on X, “Dear fellow gays… We demand tolerance and respect but then make a mockery of something sacred for over 2 billion Christians. This type of hypocrisy and lack of understanding is a bad look.”
Advertisers
C Spire, the largest privately held wireless company in the United States, promptly pulled its advertising from the Olympics, saying in a short statement that they were “shocked by the mockery of the Last Supper.”
Mississippi’s Governor Tate Reeves applauded C Spire’s decision, saying, “I am proud to see the private sector in Mississippi step up and put their foot down. God will not be mocked.”
Organizers’ Explanation and Apology
Amid the growing backlash, Olympic organizers told the press that they meant no disrespect. Reports Forbes:
Anne Descamps, a spokesperson for the Paris games, told reporters on Sunday there was “never [any] intention to show disrespect to any religious group” and Thomas Jolly, creative director of the opening ceremony, instead hoped to “celebrate community tolerance,” according to multiple news outlets.
She said the scene was generally well received but that organizers are “of course, really, really sorry” to anyone who was offended.
Jolly, a homosexual, boldly denied taking inspiration from the “Last Supper.” In an interview following the backlash, he said that “The idea was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus” that was supposed to “bring people together” while also affirming France’s “Republican values of liberty, equality and fraternity.”
Following these statements, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued an apology saying that “there was never any intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief,” and that the ceremony was merely trying “to celebrate community and tolerance.”
The full official video of the ceremony was apparently deleted from the Olympics’ YouTube channel.
“The Olympics is now trying to memory hole Last Night’s Opening Ceremony,” wrote popular conservative commentator Benny Johnson.
Like many others on X, Johnson called on the public to join him in a “complete and total boycott of the blasphemous sickening satanic occult ritual formerly known as the Olympics.”
