Paris 2024 organizers apologize for the many backlashes during ‘Last Supper’ sketch
Olympic ceremony's 'The Last Supper' sketch never meant disrespect, per Paris 2024; Official YouTube coverage and snippets of segment already removed due to controversy.
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Paris 2024 apologizes for ‘The Last Supper’ sketch after criticism at Olympics opener (Source: Instagram)
Paris 2024 organizers apologized Sunday to Catholic and other Christian groups upset by the tacky tableau at the Games. The Paris 2024 Olympics came under heavy fire this Friday, not just from celebrities and athletes or religious keen-eyed segments, But also from the French streamers themselves. A drag-led runway segment during the NBC broadcast saw a queer rendition of what looked like ‘The Last Supper.’
The opening ceremony started at 1:30 p.m. EDT (re-airs yet on NBC.com; NBC app). One section of the runway featured 18 performers posing behind a long table. The backdrop was the Seine River and the Eiffel Tower. From a queer-halo version of Jesus to a scantily dressed man, it was all kinds of havoc for streamers. Paris 2024’s effort to promote inclusiveness and be the hub of social cooperation missed the mark big. Luckily, an official statement has come addressing The Last Supper:
Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group...[the ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance...We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry.Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps during an Official Press Relase; H/T: reuters.com/sports ›202411:57 PM GMT+8
The feature’s drag queens, a transgender model, and a naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine, Dionysus, drew the consternation of the Catholic Church and the religious right in America. Art director for the Paris 2024 Olympics opener, Thomas Jolly, said it depicted a pagan feast of the Gods of Olympus. However, most online celebs and even athletes took it as a “woke” anti-Christian mob agenda to push for inclusiveness.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, boxing star Ryan Garcia, numerous MMA stars, “manosphere” advocate Andrew Tate, and even French politician Marion Maréchal slammed the matter. Maréchal, in not-so-nicer terms, billed it as a leftist-wing agenda that does not represent the whole of France. However, those involved with the making of a sequence see a pattern in the names above. Conservative minds that take issues with the queer.
Paris drag star blames backlash on repulsion toward queers
Proud of its rich Catholic heritage, France has a long tradition of secularism and anti-clericalism. The often raunchy use of expression throughout history promotes the fact that it welcomes all paths and patterns of life. Blaspheming is not only legal but also an essential pillar of freedom of speech. The opening to the Paris 2024 Olympics was to be just that.
Paris 2024 had to issue an apology. Hugo Bardin, whose drag queen character Paloma was part of ‘The Last Supper’ tableau, was disappointed.
An apology means recognizing a mistake, recognizing that you deliberately did something to harm, which was not the case, ...What bothers people isn’t that we're reproducing this painting. What bothers people is that queer people are reproducing it!Hugo Bardin via an Official Press Relase; H/T: reuters.com
Proponents of the tableau liked its message of inclusiveness and tolerance. French dragsters Minima Gesté, Miss Martini, and Nicky Doll have already made history as the first to carry the Olympic torch in drag. Doll, RuPaul’s Drag Race S12 and Drag Race France co-host, is a top-crop socialite and celeb who draws the masses. Publications like the American LGBTQ publication Out magazine have praised their efforts.
However, there will most certainly be others who prefer a more rugged outlook to the multi-sport gladiatorial and warring spirit of the Games. Take UFC lightweight king Islam Makhachev, who wants the Games back in his land, like The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
Contrarily, (to what Bardin and others are saying) the Catholic church in France said it deplored a ceremony with “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.” Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta (an official of the Vatican’s powerful doctrinal office) said he contacted France’s ambassador to complain. For now, though, the International Olympic Committee has taken note of the clarification from Paris 2024.
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