Many Christians have complained about the Last Supper being recreated by drag artists during the Olympics Opening Ceremony. But is there actually anything to be offended by?
The Paris Olympics opener was bombastic. Not content with being contained to a stadium, the nearly four-hour spectacle sprawled out across the capital in an attempt to showcase Paris to the world.
But one short segment has generated more headlines than the rest of the opening ceremony put together.
What actually happened?
Approximately halfway through the ceremony, there was a fashion show that took place on the Debilly footbridge, which was transformed into a banquet with the table doubling as a catwalk. Models strutted their stuff in high fashion outfits as the rain came pouring down.
On the side of the table opposite the camera, were a group of performers, some of whom were drag artists, all frozen in a tableau. The image lasted for less than 40 seconds but has sparked controversy as some commentators have believed it to be a recreation or parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting,The Last Supper.
It wasn’t just church leaders who objected. Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr, Andrew Tate, Viktor Orbán, and other right-wing figures also condemned the scene.
Anne Deschamps, a spokesperson for Paris 2024, said “there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group” adding that they “tried to celebrate community tolerance”. Her sentiments were echoed by Thomas Jolly, the opening ceremony artistic director, who said, “We never wanted to be subversive”.
Was it meant to be The Last Supper?
Some 45 minutes after that first shot, a bearded man, largely naked and painted blue appears to sing a song while lying on a silver serving dish in the centre of the table. The commentators identify him as French singer and actor Philippe Katerine, dressed as Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and pleasure.
Now, I am absolutely not going to defend that wardrobe choice, but surely any reasonable person might ask, could this possibly be a reference to something else? A Greek god featured in the scene makes no sense for the Last Supper, but it would make a lot of sense for the Olympics, a sporting event that originated in ancient Greece.
Is this scene meant to be The Last Supper, or is it, as some art historians have suggested, meant to represent The Feast of the Gods by Jan van Bijlert? When we factor in that Dionysus is meant to be father of Sequana, the goddess of the River Seine, over which the performance was taking place, it seems the more likely candidate for inspiration.
But let’s indulge the people who say it is meant to be The Last Supper for a moment. Let’s put aside that the only elements the two images have in common are a) people and b) a table. Was it actually offensive? Did they actually do something that was offensive to Jesus?
The Last Supper painting has been replicated frequently. In popular media, it has been recreated by The Sopranos, Battlestar Galactica and most recently, in the film, The Book of Clarence - with no public indignation whatsoever. So, is the problem that the Olympics recreated a famous painting with Christian connections, or that they did it while being drag artists?
The real issue
Seeing all the pearl-clutching taking place over this, one can’t help but wonder if the indignation is a little bit performative?
If we assume the most bad-faith argument possible, and take this as the French establishment militantly pursuing their secularist agenda, then may I suggest that this image is nothing compared to the sight of armed police forcing a woman on a beach to strip off her burkini after it had been banned in 2016?
You might be offended by how the French Olympics are treating Jesus in this opening ceremony, but I think Jesus might be more offended by how the Parisian police treated refugees in 2020, tear-gassing them and tipping them out of their tents. I think there is far more reason to be outraged by how this state treats vulnerable minorities.
Whether you are LGBT affirming or not, surely it’s not offensive for LGBT people to be interacting with Christianity. After all, isn’t that what we want? If Jesus were walking the earth today, who do you imagine he would be hanging out with?
Read an alternative perspective on this story: ‘The Olympic outrage is justified. It hurts to see our faith mocked’
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