Thomas Joly, artistic director of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics, has denied claims that a section of the show featuring drag queens parodies the painting of the Last Supper and Christianity.
Politicians, Elon Musk, Piers Morgan and even Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker were among those to vent their anger on social media after Friday’s gorgeous but rain-swept game.
The televised segment that particularly infuriated them was titled “Festival” and featured the French singer and actor Philippe Catherine standing at a banquet table half-naked and painted blue as the god Dionysus.
There was some backlash within France, including from bishops and Catholic organizations.
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Jolie, the creative visionary behind the opening ceremony and director, appeared on BFMTV’s Sunday morning show and was asked to respond to the critics.
“I don’t like the mockery of the Christian Last Supper,” prominent French politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon wrote in a blog post, referring to Leonardo da Vinci’s famous 15th century mural, “Jesus and the Twelve Apostles.”
However, Jolie insisted that the painting was not her inspiration.
He continued: “To this table comes Dionysus (Philippe Catherine, painted blue). He’s here because he’s the Greek god of festivities. He’s the god of wine, one of the jewels of France.”
Our interpretation of the Greek god Dionysus helps us realize the absurdity of human violence. #Paris2024 #Opening ceremony pic.twitter.com/FBlQNNUmvV
— Olympics (@Olympics) July 26, 2024
“He is also the father of the goddess Sequana, who is associated with the Seine.
“The idea was to have a pagan festival connected to the Olympian gods.
“It is never my desire to ridicule or belittle anyone. I wanted to do a ceremony that would repair, reconcile and reaffirm the values of our republic: liberty, equality and fraternity.”
The row was also addressed at a press conference in the main press centre on Sunday morning, with Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Decquin telling reporters: “There was clearly no intention of showing disrespect towards any religious community.”
“Of course, we are truly sorry if anyone was offended.”
Jolie said she is LGBTQ (her boyfriend’s name is Thomas) in an interview before the opening ceremony, and also spoke about diversity and religious representation during her official press conference on Saturday.
“In France, we have the right to love whoever we want,” he said. “In France, we have the right to believe or not believe. In France, we have many rights.”
