People were angry about the so-called blasphemous depiction of the Last Supper at the opening event of the Paris Olympics.
What was the performance really about?
Reverend Benjamin Cremer, who lives in the US, shared a post on social media that denied the claim that the controversial scene with drag queens made fun of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous picture.
The post says it was a picture of the Feast of Dionysus event.
The Greek God of celebration, feasting, ritual.
The Origin of Olympics
“The Olympics come from Greek history and culture.” French society is based on celebrations, feasts, and the performing arts.
The opening ceremony scene was said to be based on a picture from around 1600 called “Feast of the Gods” by Johann Rottenhammer and Jan Bruegel.
The Last Supper depiction
Another post on social media questioned the idea that the scene showed the Last Supper.
“This painting is not specifically of Dionysus, but it shows how feasts were often shown during the Renaissance, with a lot of Greek influence,” wrote Taylor Driskill Pafford.
What it looks like can be both the feast of Dionysus and the Last Supper.
Some Christians said that the part of the opening event where the catwalk turned into a stage looked like a parody of the Last Supper.
In a post, Reverend Benjamin Cremer said that the scene in the opening ceremony was not about the Last Supper but about a different picture.
“That’s because many paintings from the Renaissance showed a feast with people sitting and standing in different ways around a table on one side (and maybe a few on the ends.”
The fact that a minister shared Ms Pafford’s post gave it more weight.
“It wasn’t the Last Supper,” the Rev. Cassie Rapko wrote. “That gallery is in Italy, not France.” It was the Dionysian Feast.
Lots of people agreed with what Ms Pafford said in her post.
“Thanks.” “I didn’t immediately think they were making fun of the Last Supper on purpose, but it’s clear that some of them did,” wrote a Facebook user.
The French singer and actor Phillippe Katerine was Dionysus, the Greek God of wine. He was known as the “naked blue man” online.
Recreation of Twelve Disciples
People there thought the performance recreated the famous scene in the Bible where Jesus Christ and his twelve disciples ate their last meal together before he was crucified.
But some Christians are angry that the art imitating the real thing, which included a group of drag queens and a transgender model, makes a “gross mockery” of the religion.
The show took place on a bridge over the capital’s river around a table that could also be used as a runway. It featured models, dancers, fashion icons, and drag queens from the host country.
In the middle was a woman with a golden crown resembling a halo. Around her were several drag queens and dozens of dancers and artists.
Fashion show depiction
The main event was a fashion show featuring clothes made by some of France’s most talented young designers. People sitting on either side of the stage made smooth dance moves.
Nicky Doll, a famous Drag Racer, was there. She has appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World, the French version, and now runs France’s version.
Many young people and fans of the famous TV show praised the tableau on social media, even though the music was hard to hear.
Others, though, weren’t as impressed. They said the organizers were making a “woke” parody of the Last Supper, a painting by Leonardo da Vinci that shows Jesus’ last meal with his followers.
Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, has been criticized for his conservative views, including those about his daughter. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the show was “extremely disrespectful to Christians.”
He also said, “Christianity has lost its teeth.”
