Olympics: The Last Supper hits the Last Straw

Dancers, drag queens, and a semi-naked blue man in a two-minute clip from the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony are the subject of the latest Olympics controversy. 

The performance is being criticized as a mockery of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” which depicts Jesus’s final meal with his apostles. However, the ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, claims that the painting was not his inspiration and that he does not want to “mock or denigrate anyone.”

“The Holy See was saddened by certain scenes at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games and cannot but join the voices raised in recent days to deplore the offence done to many Christians and believers of other religions,” stated the Vatican press office.

“It didn’t seem as if the Olympic organizers knew the context of the painting, its origins, nor the meaning behind it, which is disrespectful because of the lack of consideration to Christian ideals,” said senior Beraiah Chan, who is a Christian. “Christian values should receive the same respect as LGBTQ+ values.”

One 30-second snippet of the scene showed a woman in a silver and blue headdress surrounded by drag queens and performers posing behind a long table. A later shot with French performer Philippe Katerine has him semi-nude and painted blue. He is presented lying on a plate of fruit in the center of the table, singing as the performers behind him dance.

“ [“The Last Supper” is] not my inspiration and that should be pretty obvious…[Dionysus portrayed by Katerine] is the god of celebration in Greek mythology and the tableau is called ‘Festivity’… My aim was to create a ceremony that heals and a ceremony that reconciles,” explained Jolly.

The painting that many claim is being mocked is “The Last Supper,” a 500-year-old painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, famous for its detail and scenic symbolism. It depicts Jesus at the center of a long dining table surrounded by his 12 apostles, sharing a final meal before his crucifixion. 

“It’s insulting to religion because ‘The Last Supper’ art piece wasn’t depicted as how it was first portrayed,” said junior Richard Wu.

The public response mainly consists of outrage from Christians as many believe, despite Jolly’s claim, that the opening ceremony is an offensive mockery of a central part of their faith.

“The White House has had every opportunity to condemn the Olympics’ shameful mockery of the Last Supper, but they refuse to do it,” tweeted House Speaker Mike Johnson. “Their silence should be taken as an endorsement. The more than 200 million Christians in America should take note.” 

“This is crazy. Opening your event by replacing Jesus and the disciples at the The Last Supper with men in drag,” tweeted Liberty Lockdown podcast host Clint Russell to over 182,600 likes. “There are 2.4 billion Christians on earth and apparently the Olympics wanted to declare loudly to all of them, right out of the gate NOT WELCOME.”