The organisers of the Paris Olympics are facing a backlash from Christian groups after a drag queen parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper featured in Saturday morning’s opening ceremony.
They recreated the famous biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles sharing a last meal before crucifixion, but with a group of drag queens, a transgender model and a near-naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine Dionysus. It was set to music by lesbian activist DJ Barbara Butch.
The controversy went viral online within minutes, with Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of social media site X, saying the performance was “extremely disrespectful to Christians”.
Organisers had worked with the International Olympic Committee on the topics they wanted to reflect in the show – including promoting LGBT and women’s rights.
Wendy Francis, national director of politics for the Australian Christian Lobby, said the Games had “disgracefully besmirched” the last supper with “sexualised men pretending to be women parodying it”.
“Christians participating in the Games must feel absolutely betrayed by this crude display, ridiculing the greatest event in history – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper,” she said.
“France has betrayed its predominantly Catholic nation. Western culture is doomed, having lost its foundation and its moral compass.”
An interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus has annoyed some observers of the opening ceremony.Credit: Twitter
Paris’s drag queens made a succession of appearances throughout the ceremony in a nod to the history of a country that has produced such plays as La Cage Aux Folles – which went on to become the first Broadway hit featuring male homosexuality in 1983.
France, while proud of its rich Catholic heritage, also has a long tradition of secularism and anti-clericalism. Blasphemy is not only legal, but also considered by many as an essential pillar of freedom of speech in a democratic society. But the French Bishops’ Conference said it deplored “scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity”.
Former Wallaby Israel Folau also took aim at organisers, saying the fact they were “openly mocking Jesus shows you the power that’s in his name”.
Folau, who took Rugby Australia to court in 2019 over his controversial sacking for writing anti-gay posts on social media, used Instagram on Saturday night to pan the performance.
“The devil knows it very well and doesn’t want you to know the truth. Jesus said he is the way the truth and the life. There isn’t any other way.”
Paris 2024 artistic director Thomas Jolly said the ceremony was based on a theme of “inclusion” and he “wanted to talk about diversity”.
“In France, we have artistic freedom. We have the right to love who we want. We have the right not to be worshippers. We have a lot of rights and this is what I wanted to convey.”
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