Social media lit up Friday after a “Last Supper” parody during the Paris Olympics opening. And more prominent voices, including members of the gay community, are now speaking out on the controversy.
The segment showed a group of performers, including drag queens, surrounding scantily-clad French actor Phillippe Katerine, dressed as Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. The scene parodied Leonardo da Vinci’s famous 15th century work The Last Supper showing Jesus and his disciples.
Initially, the most heated and vocal complaints came from conservatives and religious sources. For example, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, a devout Christian, left an X post noting, “God is not mocked.”
On Saturday, the backlash appeared to extend to some in the political left, and members of the gay community. Fitness guru and TV star Jillian Michaels, who is gay, posted a message on X Saturday calling out the “hypocrisy” of the scene.
“Dear fellow gays… We demand tolerance and respect but then make a mockery of something sacred for over 2 billion Christians,” Michaels posted. “This type of hypocrisy and lack of understanding is a bad look. We get outraged when the extreme right bashes us, but then we do this shit. What kind of reaction do you think they will have towards the LGBTQ+ community after this. This is NOT how we break down barriers it’s how you build them.”
Veteran journalist Piers Morgan, usually viewed as left-of-center on the political spectrum, posted, “What the f*ck was all this about? A drag queen mockery of the Last Supper at the Olympics? Would they have mocked any other religion like this? Appalling decision.”
Other gay voices also spoke out about the scene.
Thomas Jolly, artistic director for the opening ceremony, addressed the controversy Saturday, saying (via Mike Sington), “In France, people are free to love how they please, are free to love whoever they want, are free to believe or not believe.”
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson blasted the display: “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 posted on X.
There were some other interesting views on the issue. Some people thought the scene was recreating not the Last Supper, but the Feast of Dionysus, the Greek god of feasting and ritual.
And others pointed out da Vinci’s painting has been recreated numerous times in pop culture through the years.
[Jillian Michaels on X/Twitter]
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