The 2024 Olympics opening ceremony received rave reviews, with Gojira, Lady Gaga and Celine Dion in particular drawing praise from critics.
Not everyone was a fan of the festivities, however. Multiple far-right politicians spoke out against the event and, more specifically, a skit featuring drag queens in what seemed to be a recreation of Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" painting.
Elon Musk, Piers Morgan and Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker also decried the performance, labeling it as insulting to Christians.
Here's what you need to know.
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Olympics Last Supper controversy, explained
The skit in question took place toward the end of the four-hour opening ceremony, which wound throughout Paris on the Seine river. With rain coming down in the background, a group of around a dozen performers — including drag queens —struck poses around a long table.
At the center of the performance was a performer wearing a crown-like headdress. As the camera panned away, spectators were presented with the other artists and dancers around the table, some of whom were drag performers.
The image looked similar to that of "The Last Supper," Da Vinci's 15th-century mural painting, which portrayed Jesus Christ and his apostles at the moment when he announced that one of his apostles would betray him.
The Olympics' official X account referred to the scene as an “interpretation of the Greek God [of wine and festivity] Dionysus," selected to make spectators "aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings."
Yet the visual comparison to "The Last Supper" stuck in the minds of critics. Marion Marechal — a member of the European Parliament whose grandfather Jean-Marie Le Pen founded France's leading far-right part, the National Front (now known as the National Rally) — took to X to express her feelings on the clip.
“To all the Christians of the world who are watching the #Paris2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper," Marechal wrote. "Know that it is not France that is speaking but a Left-wing minority ready for any provocation.”
Le Filip, the most recent winner of "Drag Race France," applauded the scene and the broader inclusivity of LGBTQ+ perspectives throughout Friday's opening ceremony.
“I thought it would be a five-minute drag event with queer representation. I was amazed. It started with Lady Gaga, then we had drag queens, a huge rave, and a fire in the sky,” they told the Associated Press. “It felt like a crowning all over again. I am proud to see my friends and queer people on the world stage.”
Others, including Inter-LGBT president James Leperlier, were more pragmatic, acknowledging that the country has much more to do to promote inclusivity for all members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“If you saw the opening ceremony last night you’d think it was like that normally, but it’s not," Leperlier said, per AP. "France tried to show what it should be and not what it is."
Paris Olympics apology for 'Last Supper' scene
Organizers of the 2024 Olympics apologized for "The Last Supper" scene during a news conference Sunday.
"Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group," spokeswoman Anne Descamps told reporters, per the Washington Post. "If people have taken any offense we are, of course, really, really sorry."
Thomas Jolly, the opening ceremonies choreographer who helped put together the scene, also insisted his goal wasn't to offend anyone. He simply was trying to depict a Dionysian feast.
"The idea was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus," Jolly told the BFM channel on Sunday, per France 24. "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"
However, Paris 2024 indicated the scene was a nod to "The Last Supper." The governing body also defended the scene while reaffirming Descamps' notion that "there was never an intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief."
"[Jolly] is not the first artist to make a reference to what is a world-famous work of art," Paris 2024 said in a statement, per The Wrap. "From Andy Warhol to ‘The Simpsons,’ many have done it before him."
Feast of the gods painting, explained
That said, Jolly's explanation seems to have some merit. The scene set up in the performance has shades of Jan van Bijlert's painting "The Feast of the Gods," which depicts a party on Mount Olympus.
That would make the crowned performer at the center the sun god, Apollo, while the blue man lying down depicts Dionysius, who is seen devouring grapes in the famous painting.
It’s not at all #LastSupper. It is Jan Harmensz van Biljert's Feast of the Gods, painted +/- 1635. The gods of Olympus celebrate marriage of Thetis and Peleus; Center isn’t Christ, but Apollo crowned. Bacchus-Dionysus is lying in foreground. No #Blasphemy at all!#OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/LhPzjcOkY3
— Steve Van de Voorde (@Steve_Zowietje) July 27, 2024
The Olympic Games have Greek roots, so perhaps the scene was a tip of the hat to the competition's ancient origins.
Either way, Jolly's explanation checks out, even if there is conflicting information about what the scene was depicting.
