Olympic Games organizers have issued an apology following criticism of scenes in Friday’s opening ceremony that offended some viewers. A banquet sequence featuring drag artists drew particular ire from Christian groups, who believed it parodied Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper,” a key biblical scene.
The Catholic Church in France was among the critics, condemning the ceremony for what it described as “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.” The US telecommunications company C Spire announced it would be pulling its advertising from the Olympic Games, citing shock at the mockery of “The Last Supper” during the opening ceremonies.
Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s artistic director, stated there was no intention to “mock or denigrate anyone,” explaining that the scene was meant to reference pagan gods. “Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps told reporters on Sunday. “On the contrary, I think Thomas Jolly did try to intend to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence, we of course are really sorry.”
Jolly further clarified to French broadcaster BFM: “The idea was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus. You’ll never find in my work any desire to mock or denigrate anyone. I wanted a ceremony that brings people together, that reconciles, but also a ceremony that affirms our Republican values of liberty, equality, and fraternity.”