A segment of the opening ceremony, appearing to parody Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper with drag artists, sparked backlash from religious conservatives, who felt it mocked Christianity.
ADVERTISEMENTParis Olympics organisers have apologised to anyone who was offended by a segment of the glamorous opening ceremony that appeared to parody Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” painting.
Da Vinci's painting depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him. The rendition during Friday's ceremony featured DJ and lesbian activist Barbara Butch - an LGBTQ+ icon - flanked by drag artists and dancers.
Religious conservatives from around the world decried the segment, with the French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops deploring “scenes of derision” that they said made a mockery of Christianity - a sentiment echoed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
The Anglican Communion in Egypt expressed its “deep regret” on Sunday, saying the ceremony could cause the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to “lose its distinctive sporting identity and its humanitarian message.”
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. [The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance,” the Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps told a press conference. “We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry.”
Controversial media personality Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate were also among the critics. On Sunday, the two stood in front of a church near the French Embassy in Bucharest to protest against the opening ceremony.
"This is the Last Supper. This is everything holy about Christianity, and we say absolutely nothing about it and say, oh, you cannot even complain. What are we doing wrong by saying that this is disgusting? This is not art," said Andrew Tate to journalists.
His brother Tristan Tate added: “What's very important to remember is that the European Union gave €100 million for France to do this Olympics. So they took your money. And they're making fun of Jesus Christ. It's our money, you know, that's Romanian taxpayers. They're using our money to do this.”
Andrew Tate is awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
He was initially arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June last year and all four have denied the allegations.
Elon Musk also voiced his opinion on the ceremony controversy, writing on X: "Unless there is more bravery to stand up for what is fair and right, Christianity will perish."
While the scene has faced criticism, the opening ceremony was also widely praised for its artistic ambitious and cultural elements.
Dutch art historian Walther Schoonenberg suggested on X that the painting in question is not "The Last Supper" but rather "The Feast of the Gods" by Jan van Bijlert, created in 1635.
The ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly had distanced his scene from any “Last Supper” parallels after the ceremony, saying it was meant to celebrate diversity and pay tribute to feasting, French gastronomy and Dionysus, the Greek God of celebration.
"We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everybody. In France, we have artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country," said Jolly, regarding the negative reactions to the show.
