Christian groups have expressed outrage over a scene during the Paris Olympic opening ceremony that seemingly mocked the Last Supper scene from the Bible, as immortalized by Leonardo da Vinci in his famous painting.
However, supporters of this scene have come out to explain that this was an unintended parody of the biblical moment, as it was actually supposed to interpret an old Dionysus story.
Paris’ Opening Olympic Ceremony
The Paris Olympics has begun this summer with a bang — and a very controversial opening ceremony.
Social media lit up for a variety of reasons, as many people around the world wanted to talk about the many different moments of this opening ceremony.
The Last Supper Controversy
During one moment of the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony, many drag queens and a transgender model apparently depicted da Vinci’s Last Supper painting.
This quickly led to many people attacking the scene, as Christians in the United States — and around the world — felt it was a performance that was attacking Catholics and Christians.
Christians Go After Last Supper Performance
Many Christian groups, as well as conservative politicians, have attacked this performance. A delegate of the bishops of France for the Olympics stated that French athletes struggled to sleep because of this controversy.
Even the Catholic Church in France criticized this scene, as they said the ceremony “included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.”
Worldwide Outrage
Around the world, many Christian leaders expressed their disagreement with how the Olympic opening ceremony went. Newspapers around the world also had their own think pieces on it.
A daily Italian newspaper affiliated with the Catholic Church wrote, “Don’t take us for moralistic bigots, but what’s the point of having to experience every single global event, even a sporting one, as if it were a Gay Pride?”
A Bad Start to the Olympics?
Meanwhile, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini also went after the scene, calling out the French for thinking this was a good idea.
“Opening the Olympics by insulting billions of Christians around the world was a really bad start, dear French,” he said. “Seedy.”
America’s Outrage
Countless American politicians and church leaders were also outraged by what they saw when they watched this Olympic opening ceremony in Paris.
Many Republican lawmakers and conservative public figures called out those who directed this scene and ceremony, as they thought it was attacking their faith.
A War on Christian Faith?
Many public figures, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, claimed that this performance in France was an attack on their Christian faith.
“Last night’s mockery of the Last Supper was shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world who watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games,” Johnson said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The war on our faith and traditional values knows no bounds today. But we know that truth and virtue will always prevail.”
Paris’ Response
The Paris 2024 team that approved this artistic direction recently responded to this worldwide outrage, giving their apologies.
Anne Descamps, a Paris 2024 spokesperson, said, “Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. [The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry.”
An Unintended Scene
However, officials and art directors of this controversial scene have come out to explain that these performers weren’t parodying the Last Supper scene. This was unintended.
In fact, they were actually interpreting a Dionysus scene and paying homage to the pagan gods of Greece.
Honoring Greek Mythology
Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony, explained what many got wrong about this performance.
“There is Dionysus who arrives on this table. He is there because he is the god of celebration in Greek mythology,” Jolly said. “The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus. You will never find in me a desire to mock and denigrate anyone.”
The Last Supper Wasn’t Used as Inspiration
Jolly further explained that he didn’t use da Vinci’s Last Supper painting as inspiration at all, regardless of what many Christians may have believed.
Instead, he only focused on Dionysus, which is what the entire scene was about. However, many Christians still remained outraged by this scene, even with this explanation.
