Controversy swirled thanks to one specific scene at the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The Catholic Church and many other Christian organizations were enraged at a scene that they said mocked the famous “Last Supper” of Jesus.
The scene, according to Reuters, featured “drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine, Dionysus.”
But Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of what Reuters called the “flamboyant” opening ceremony, said that “The Last Supper” didn’t inspire the skit that offended so many Christians.
He said what they were actually looking at was a scene that depicted a pagan festival linked to the gods of Olympus.
“You will never find in my work a desire to denigrate anyone or anything,” Jolly told broadcaster BFMTV.
Nevertheless, a spokesperson for the Paris Games issued an apology, though that came with the caveat that the ceremony accomplished an overall goal of community inclusion.
[Reuters]
