Paris Olympics Rep Sets Record Straight on What People Thought Was a ‘Last Supper’ Send-Up
The Paris Olympics drew ire Friday for an opening ceremony scene that some religious viewers felt was mocking Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, which depicts Jesus and his disciples before his crucifixion. Now, a representative from the Olympics is setting the record straight.
The scene in question featured drag queens, a transgender model and a singer dressed up as Dionysus, all set against the city’s beautiful Seine river. In an interview that aired on French television, Olympics artistic director Thomas Jolly made it clear that the inspiration for the idea was “a grand pagan festival connected to the gods of Olympus.” The Last Supper was not an intended reference, he said.
“When we want to include everyone and not exclude anyone, questions are raised,” he said at an International Olympic Committee media briefing. “Our subject was not to be subversive. We never wanted to be subversive. We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that.”
Paris 2024 representative Anne Descamps said there was “never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” she said during a press conference. “[The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance… We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry.”
Famous conservatives like Candace Cameron Bure and Rob Schneider were just two of the faces who spoke out against the opening ceremony.
“To watch such an incredible and wonderful event that’s going to take place over the next two weeks and see the opening ceremonies completely blaspheme and mock the Christian faith with their interpretation of the Last Supper was disgusting,” Bure said via Instagram video. “And it made me so sad. And someone said, ‘You shouldn’t be sad. You should be mad about it.’ And I’m like, ‘Trust me. It makes me mad.’ But I’m more sad, because I’m sad for souls.”
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Schneider also spoke out publicly about the segment.
“I am sorry to say to all the world’s greatest athletes, I wish you all the best, but I cannot watch an Olympics that disrespects Christianity and openly celebrates Satan,” he wrote on X. “I sincerely hope these Olympics get the same amount of viewers as CSPAN.”
He continued: “Guys with their genitalia hanging out in front of children?! Drag Queens?! I wasn’t sure if I was watching the Olympics or if I was watching a school board meeting.”
Bure and Schneider weren’t the only two with gripes. Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker called the depiction “crazy” in a post on Instagram and quoted the New Testament while speaking out against the piece. Elon Musk disparaged the “wokeness” of the depiction with some shared memes, while Jenna Ellis, former 2020 campaign attorney to Donald Trump, described the ceremony as containing “overt pagan and satanic symbolism.”
What did you think of the Olympics’ opening ceremony? Let us know by dropping some comments.
