The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics faced intense backlash after a controversial performance angered viewers globally.
The four-hour spectacle on Friday night featured athletes parading down the River Seine, accompanied by dancers and musicians along the banks and atop monuments.
However, one act in particular drew severe criticism.
During the ceremony, broadcast cameras focused on a table of drag queens, one of whom wore a crown and stood in front of DJ equipment.
A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. [sic]
Initially, it seemed unremarkable, but it soon became clear that the scene was a recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s mural of Jesus and his 12 disciples.
The controversy deepened when the broadcast returned to the scene, now featuring a man painted blue and adorned with flowers and fruits, supposedly representing the Greek god Dionysus.
Viewers interpreted this as a parody of the Last Supper, igniting outrage on social media.
Kenyan lawyer Donald Kipkorir condemned the display as a mockery of Jesus.
“France, a Roman Catholic nation, decided to open the Paris Olympics with LGBT & Drag Queens mocking Jesus’ Last Supper: one of the most sacred occasions in Christianity. And the Director was Jewish. Imagine if it were mocking a sacred Jewish ceremony? France betrayed Christianity,” Kipkorir tweeted.
Globally, reactions echoed this sentiment, with notable figures like Elon Musk expressing their discontent.
Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, while dismissing the controversial performance lamented that “Christianity has become toothless.”
Several netizens also expressed their frustrations with the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Some lamented that the event made a demonic mockery of the Christian faith.
The backlash highlights the cultural sensitivities surrounding religious imagery and the potential for art to provoke strong reactions.
