When the Paris Olympics begin in just a few short months, a French drag queen will have an important role in the opening festivities, and not everyone is happy about it.
It’s recently been announced that 33-year-old Parisian drag queen Minima Gesté will be one of those carrying the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. And she is quite happy about the honor.
“I know that visibility is still one of the pillars of acceptance of our LGBTQIA+ community,” Gesté said in a video announcing her participation. “So having a drag queen carry the flame—and who might fall flat on her face with it, wait and see—it’s an enormous source of pride.”
It’s obviously quite an honor for Gesté, but not everyone was happy about it.
“Decadence of civilization brought on by the left,” one person commented. “Can I get a Russian passport?” another person wrote, calling Minima’s participation a “fiasco” and “ridiculous.”
But despite the criticism, Minima Gesté has the support of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
“I reaffirm my full support for her,” Hidalgo said in a statement on Friday. “I’ll say it again: I am proud and, yes, Paris is proud that a drag queen will carry the torch and the values of peace and humanity.”
She will play an important role in the ceremony.
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