The organizers behind the Paris Olympic Games Organizers have apologized to anyone who was offended by a painting evoking Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” at Friday’s opening ceremony, sparking outrage among religious conservatives around the world. But organizers defended the concept behind the painting.
Leonardo da Vinci’s painting depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him. scene during Friday’s ceremony On the Debilly Bridge, DJ and producer Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon who calls herself a “love activist,” was in attendance. Butch wore a silver headdress that resembled a halo as she partied on a footbridge over the Seine. Drag performers, dancers, and others flanked Butch on both sides.
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Religious conservatives around the world have denounced the ceremony, with the French Catholic Church’s bishops’ conference deploring “scenes of derision” that they said ridiculed Christianity, a sentiment echoed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Egypt’s Anglican Communion expressed “deep regret” on Sunday, saying the ceremony could cause the IOC to lose “its distinctive sporting identity and humanitarian message.”
Prominent French far-right politician Marion Maréchal denounced the performance on social media.
“To all the Christians around the world who are watching the Paris 2024 ceremony and feel insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation,” she posted on the social platform X, a sentiment echoed by religious conservatives internationally.
In Romania, Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate, a controversial influencer, took part in a protest against the Olympics on Sunday outside the French embassy in Bucharest. The Tate brothers criticized the Olympics for mocking Christianity during the opening ceremony and called on athletes to boycott the Games.
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Andrew Tate awaits trial in Romania accused of allegedly forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking and rape.
The ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, was keen to distance himself from any reference to the Last Supper, saying it was intended to celebrate diversity and pay homage to French feasting and gastronomy. Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps was asked about the outcry at an International Olympic Committee press conference on Sunday.
“There was clearly never any intention to disrespect any religious group. On the contrary, I think that with Thomas Jolly, we really tried to celebrate community tolerance,” Descamps said. “Looking at the results of the surveys that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people were offended, we are of course very sorry.”
Jolly explained his intentions to The Associated Press after the ceremony.
“My wish is not to be subversive, nor to mock or shock,” Jolly said. “I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all of division.”
