Not just Christians were insulted in the Olympic Opening ceremony

Not just Christians were insulted in the Olympics Opening ceremony

July 30, 2024 30 Reactions

The Olympics is all about setting records. Well, the first night was a bit of a fizzer, as no world records were set in the swimming – possibly because les génies gastronomiques dishing it out to the athletes went vegan. More about that later.

But the Olympic Opening Ceremony probably did set records for the number of complaints about its parody of the Last Supper and the mountain of self-serving, obfuscatory, double-tongued, oleaginous, smirking, mendacious BS to explain it away.

If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what it’s all about, here’s what you need to know.

First of all, Celine Dion was a knock-out. After coming back from a life-threatening illness to belt out the Edith Piaf classic “Hymne à l’amour” before hundreds of millions, she was sensational.

Second, the light show from the Eiffel Tower was absolutely brilliant. Unbeatable.

Third, despite the pouring rain, the flotilla of boats filled with athletes cruising up the Seine through the heart of Paris was terrific. Clockwork stuff.

Fourth, the tableau featuring drag queens dressed to look like Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” was a salacious display of aggressively anti-Christian blasphemy. In front of the tableau was a nearly naked man painted blue evoking Dionysius. It was like dining at a three-star Michelin restaurant and finding a cockroach in the bouillabaisse.

(Oh yeah, s'il-vous-plait, what was the little kid doing in there with the drag queens? In the USA someone would certainly have called the gendarmes about that. Perhaps in gay Paris they don't sweat that sort of thing any more.)

Catholics around the world took umbrage. The French bishops said that the Games were magnificent but that they had been horrified at “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.”

Soooooooooo sorry about that, darlings, really truly we are, said a representative of the Olympic Committee. We weren’t aware that we were offending anyone.

Four years to prepare this €120 million (US$130 million) gig, which must have been studied by committee after committee after committee – and you weren’t aware? Don’t tell me that pencil-pushers from the École nationale d'administration are that clueless.

Actually, it’s exactly what you would expect from Thomas Jolly, the 41-year-old director who designed and coordinated the evening’s entertainment. He is openly gay, married to a man, and has a reputation for outré theatre. No doubt he’s brilliant – I’d love to experience his production of H6R3, a production of Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy followed by Richard III which runs for 24 straight (no pun intended) hours.

But the putrid convention-busting Last Supper tableau must have been exactly what the organisers wanted: a public service announcement for a post-Christian France.

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So what did Tom have to say for himself?

"The idea was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus. You'll never find in my work any desire to mock or denigrate anyone,” he told the media. “I wanted a ceremony that brings people together, that reconciles, but also a ceremony that affirms our Republican values of liberty, equality and fraternity.”

And here’s the official explanation, i.e., lie:

The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings. #Paris2024 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/FBlQNNUmvV
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 26, 2024

“The absurdity of violence between human beings” – that naked Dionysius is a powerful war-stopping statement, isn’t it? I bet that guys in Ukraine threw down their rifles and leapt over mine fields to embrace their Russian comrades after watching drag queens preening themselves as Apostles.

Actually, The Wrap, an entertainment site, caught Tom out in a massive fib. Their journalist obtained a statement from the Olympic organisers which explained

“For the ‘Festivities’ segment, Thomas Jolly took inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting to create the setting … Clearly, 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. From Andy Warhol to ‘The Simpsons,’ many have done it before him.”

In fact, showing disrespect might be not a bug but a feature of the 2024 Olympic ethos. For politically-correct bureaucrats it is an opportunity to educate not only the bog-stupid billion who will watch but also the athletes themselves.

Former Australian swimmer and Olympic medallist James Magnussen reported that nutrition-obsessed athletes were being shamed into going vegan.

They had a charter that said 60 per cent of food in the village had to be vegan friendly and the day before the opening ceremony they ran out of meat and dairy options in the village because they hadn’t anticipated so many athletes would be choosing the meat and dairy options over the vegan friendly ones.

The caterer had to rejig their numbers and bring in more of those products because surprise, surprise — world class athletes don’t have vegan diets.

“Paris Olympics: Vegan is the way to go as Games Village reduces meat, cheese, dairy products on menu to reduce carbon footprint” was the headline in The Indian Express. The Indian media was ecstatic. The athletes not so much.

An Aussie heavyweight boxer – 6 foot 6, 250-pound – was told that chops were being rationed; he could only have two of them. “He’s come here as a heavyweight, he’ll go home as a middleweight,” joked a Sky News journalist.

To be fair to Tom & Co, Christianity was not the only tradition to be demeaned. La belle France, which gave birth to Joan of Arc, le Roi Soleil, Robespierre, Napoleon, Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, and Coco Chanel, copped a hiding as well.

“We drew on the past of each site and monuments: almost each stone tells something about our history of France, of the history of Paris, a history which is connected to the world,” Jolly said, according to the Financial Times.

Could have fooled me. The proud heritage of France was boiled down like old chicken bones to a decapitated Marie Antoinette and can-can dancers. Maybe, just maybe, the mysterious silver-clad horsewoman looking like a cross between a Nazgul and the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse evoked Joan of Arc. The Da Vinci Code was a better advertisement for France.

M. Jolly is all about egalité – even in the people he insults. Christians shouldn’t feel singled out. The Opening Ceremony was thoroughly post-modernist and PoMo is all about deconstructing traditional values. In that, at least, it was successful.

And now, on with the Games!

Is the fuss over the Opening Ceremony overblown? Tell us in the comments below.

Michael Cook is editor of Mercator

Image credit: screenshot Sky News report

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Jürgen Siemer commented 2024-08-04 00:24:38 +1000

I have just read reports on Reuters from August 1st after somebody has made me aware of it.

It refers to a phone call made by Turkish president Erdogan to Pope Francis.

I quote from the report: “President Erdogan said human dignity was being trampled on under the guise of freedom of expression and tolerance, that religious and moral values are being mocked, and that this offends Muslims as much as the Christian world, …
(Erdogan) believes that it is necessary to raise our voices together and take a common stand against these…”

I have seen nothing about this call from the Turkish president in the German media. As you know, Germany has a large Turkish community.

Has the Pope answered to this request from Erdogan and “raised his voice” and “taken a stance against”?
Martin Fitzgerald commented 2024-08-02 15:56:45 +1000

M. Jolly is a camp follower.
Jürgen Siemer commented 2024-08-02 03:38:49 +1000

Anon, no the sin was the homosexual act. Read the text carefully.

Jesus explicitly said according to Matthew 19:5 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

“Wife” is a clearly defined term that did not and to me does not include a man who selfidentifies as a woman or a frog.

Is that explicit and clear enough?
Julian Farrows commented 2024-08-02 00:02:55 +1000

As a practicing Dionysian myself I was completely outraged by this sordid spectacle.
mrscracker commented 2024-08-01 23:53:17 +1000

I think it’s generally understood that in Judeo Christian teaching marital relations are reserved for marriage. Christ was quite clear about what defined a marriage & who may enter into it. It seems unnecessary to require Him to provide a list of those who are not eligible.
It’s fair to choose to reject that teaching, it’s a free country, but we should be honest about it. The Gospels are challenging & not just in the teachings on marriage.
Anon Emouse commented 2024-08-01 22:18:27 +1000

Jurgen,

So no direct words from Christ condemning homosexuality or crossdressing? Only that He “didn’t not condemn it”? Got it :)

Regarding Sodom and Gomorroah, your interpretation of their sins is wrong. Their sin wasn’t “homosexuality” but rather “adultery”. Pride was also one of their sins (Ezekiel 16: 49-50) alongside not being charitable. The reference in Ezekiel to “abominable things” – the original translation of the word was “toebah” – a reference to violating Mosaic law (again, not homosexuality). There’s a lot more biblical discussion to be had here regarding interpretations of text and the numerous translations over the years.

If you want to take the words of Paul as the words of Christ, be my guest. However, I tend to doubt the words of a man who admitted that he sought to destroy Christians and the Church (Galatians 1) who would have incentive to destroy the Church from within.

Regarding the child, yes, they probably shouldn’t have been there. But we all know how God feels about children (2 Kings 2:23-24).

But yes, no direct quotes from Christ. I’m exiting this thread, as I think I’ve proved my point. Unless you want to quote Christ in scripture saying “homosexuality is wrong” (or something to that effect) I’m going to say that someone who surrounded themselves with 12 men constantly was probably okay with homosexuality.
Jürgen Siemer commented 2024-08-01 17:43:50 +1000

Anon, Jesus has referred to Sodom a few times. We can be sure that basically everybody knew the stories about Sodom and Gomorrah, the two cities that God had destroyed due to their grave sins. Homosexual practice was one of those grave sins.

Jesus has not told the crowds that they had misunderstood the stories – if you read closely one should rather say history – about Sodom. Thereby, Jesus confirmed the general interpretation of Sodom.

Otherwise, please also check Romans. I trust that Paul would not have written anything that would have contradicted Jesus’ teachings.

And finally, I would like to point that there was also a child in the supper scene in Paris. Matthew 18 is in my opinion also relevant in this context, probably more than the other points.
Dianne Wood commented 2024-08-01 04:12:29 +1000

Anon Emouse, thank you for this, it has helped me very much: “ Clearly, the performers meant to honor the painting created by Da Vinci by recreating it, in their own style. This is common across art. And obviously, we don’t need to look into their hearts to see that their intent was pure. ” It is very beautiful.
I also read Simcha Fisher’s response to this and I also found it beautiful.
https://www.simchafisher.com/2024/07/28/the-table-where-you-sit/
Anon Emouse commented 2024-08-01 03:03:46 +1000

Jurgen,

Point out to me where Christ said that homosexuality is a sin (I’ll wait).
Point out to me where Christ said not to dress in drag (I’ll wait).

Clearly, the performers meant to honor the painting created by Da Vinci by recreating it, in their own style. This is common across art. And obviously, we don’t need to look into their hearts to see that their intent was pure. Your (and other Christian’s) reactions were not what was intended from their loving tribute.
Jürgen Siemer commented 2024-08-01 02:18:12 +1000

Dear Anon,
since you have looked up and provided the correct definition of “homage”, you should now also be able to interpret the hyper-homo-sexualized performance. And, obviously, we do not need to have a look into the hearts of the performers, we only need to assess the performance.

Clearly, there is no honor conveyed with the performance towards Jesus or the work of the artist who created the picture of the last supper, there is only a political message, a message that contradicts Jesus’ teaching, a message that honors Sodom and not the sacrifice of the God-Man.

I do not believe that you do not understand.

And finally, I do not speak on behalf of God. He, not me, is going to judge everybody who is connected to or approves this “sodomite” performance.

But when I see the blaspemic insult I call it what it is.
Anon Emouse commented 2024-07-31 23:56:36 +1000

Jurgen,

An homage is “something done in honor of a person or a thing”.

Now tell me – in addition to your super power of being able to speak on behalf of God and what insulting to Her – do you also have the ability to read what is in the performer’s hearts and minds as they put on this performance? Or are you judging based on your own standard of what is “Christian”? Because, as you know, Christ warned against judging others.
Jürgen Siemer commented 2024-07-31 19:56:19 +1000

Anon, what is an homage?
mrscracker commented 2024-07-30 23:39:14 +1000

Mr. Steven, we all move in different circles & hear differing things based upon that. I try to comment from my own experiences too, but I realize those may not represent everyone else’s.
mrscracker commented 2024-07-30 23:36:33 +1000

Miss Dianne, if we believers know our Scripture we know Who wins in the end. It’s not Chaos.
:)
Dianne Wood commented 2024-07-30 21:24:37 +1000

They probably achieved their aim to increase the viewers of the Olympics. And they did it in a very cleaver way.
Their apologies seemed so sincere that the pagan world bought it and the Christian World is now at a loss for words on how to defend itself.
It seems now we really have no recourse in this matter as they say they have apologized, they have pulled the video off the Internet, and they have caused a lot of chaos and left us all not knowing what to do now.
Even “Catholic” President Biden loved it which makes everything alright despite the fact we think he has dementia.
How are we as Catholics able to defend the Church? Our own dirty laundry has been portrayed to the world, with so many priestly scandals that also mock the Last Supper, even preformed on Altars in Churches. (https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/crime/pearl-river-priest-charged-with-vandalism-over-filmed-sex-with-dominatrices-on-alter/289-10497a2f-b3ea-4ba4-835e-2db483874aeb)
How do we get out of this mess? How do we get the mainstream media to see our side and take this offence seriously? I am at loss for anymore ideas on what to do about this. Chaos is winning.
Anon Emouse commented 2024-07-30 20:26:20 +1000

Ah, Jurgen, thank you for answering. So, if I’m understanding you correctly – drag queens cannot perform an homage to a famous painting by Da Vinci because it is “insulting of God” and “to those that worship God”. Tell me, if the performers were not drag queens, would it still be an insult to those that worship God?

I must applaud you for your ability to speak on behalf of God, I was under the impression only the pope had such authority.
Jürgen Siemer commented 2024-07-30 20:11:26 +1000

Not parody, not homage.

It was an insult of God and those of us who worship God.
Anon Emouse commented 2024-07-30 19:50:12 +1000

Al lacks reading comprehension and never seems to address the initial question as to why this is “parody” and not “homage” and why he seems to be assigning value judgments to art.
Angela Shanahan commented 2024-07-30 16:53:13 +1000

My daughter and all her little 8 year olds in 3rd class saw it and wanted to know ""miss who is that blue man and he hasn’t got any clothes on!
Al Brennan commented 2024-07-30 15:51:12 +1000

Mr Meyer doesn’t (personally) know anyone who raised any issues with the opening ceremony; as unsurprising as this is (given a history of antipathy towards the sacred) it must be a singular rarity even in today’s world. However, what’s worse is that he seems to be think that because he doesn’t know anyone who had an issue it must be fine and dandy; flagrant argumentum ad ignorantiam. Most people are willing to expose themselves eclectically to the world, perhaps Mr Meyer should get out a bit more often and risk encountering those who might know right from wrong.
Jürgen Siemer commented 2024-07-30 15:30:21 +1000

I suppose that, if the Pope had issued a strong statement, the largely silent German media would be forced to report more. So far, the state-owned media do not report. But at least there is one privat Media Group that has now reported.

I assume that the American media reports are a response to the outrage in the alternative US scene.
Hence, the large US media groups would perhaps not have reported had there been no outrage in the US.

We Catholics do also have our rights to express our opinion. Why should we not use them, in a civilized manner?
Jürgen Siemer commented 2024-07-30 15:30:20 +1000

I suppose that, if the Pope had issued a strong statement, the largely silent German media would be forced to report more. So far, the state-owned media do not report. But at least there is one privat Media Group that has now reported.

I assume that the American media reports are a response to the outrage in the alternative US scene.
Hence, the large US media groups would perhaps not have reported had there been no outrage in the US.

We Catholics do also have our rights to express our opinion. Why should we not use them, in a civilized manner?
Michael Cook commented 2024-07-30 11:25:48 +1000

ou make a really good point. I like your phrase “outrage addicts”. We do our best to avoid falling into that trap. Of course, sometimes we stumble and we rely upon readers like you to remind us. However, in this case, it was biggish news. It was covered by the New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/28/sports/olympics-opening-ceremony-last-supper-paris.html
NBC News
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/drag-performance-resembling-last-supper-olympics-opening-ceremony-rcna163927
Reuters, etc, etc, etc.
https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/paris-ceremony-last-supper-parody-sparks-controversy-2024-07-27/
Greg Sheridan contributed a column in today’s Australian which is pretty good:
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/paris-shame-shows-wests-true-contempt-for-christianity/news-story/a959ad3b381ddf660f580ce7452bc160
You might say that it is all predictable and inconsequential and boring. Perhaps so, but it is news.
Steven Meyer commented 2024-07-30 10:31:09 +1000

Not one person I know personally has brought up any issues with the opening ceremony.

The purported outrage seems to be confined to a small group of outrage addicts. If I hadn’t read about it here I might never have known about it.
Al Brennan commented 2024-07-30 09:19:42 +1000

Oh my, Mr? Mouse is scary brainy, refuting one’s own position in the same post is quite a feat!
Michael Cook commented 2024-07-30 09:01:35 +1000

Can drag queens be Christians? Why not? But they should behave like Christians and not drag queens.
Jürgen Siemer commented 2024-07-30 07:32:20 +1000

Dear Anon, please do not try to sell BS.

The event had a multimillion Euro budget, preparations had begun years before, included hundreds of people and, you can bet, the French government was involved, at least informed about everything.

They knew what they were doing. Ignorance is not accepted as excuse
mrscracker commented 2024-07-30 00:19:01 +1000

The folks I feel most sorry for are the athletes from impoverished nations like Haiti who struggle against such odds to make it to the Olympics & then have to witness this vulgar nightclub parody. It demeans & disrespects them & all they’ve achieved.
Anon Emouse commented 2024-07-29 22:59:19 +1000

Michael,

“Fourth, the tableau featuring drag queens dressed to look like Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” was a salacious display of aggressively anti-Christian blasphemy. In front of the tableau was a nearly naked man painted blue evoking Dionysius. It was like dining at a three-star Michelin restaurant and finding a cockroach in the bouillabaisse.”

Well, it is funny that you say that, because there wasn’t any intentional evocation of DaVinci’s “The Last Supper”

https://www.mediaite.com/news/olympics-ceremony-critics-accused-of-mocking-the-last-supper-was-actually-celebration-in-greek-mythology-organizer-says/

But let us assume for the sake of your discussion that this is meant to be “The Last Supper” as painted by DaVinci. Why is it in “Mock” of the last supper? Can’t drag queens be Christians? Why can’t it be a celebration of Christianity? Because to me, it comes off as if you’re judging who is and who isn’t a Christian. Which is something Christ warned against.
Michael Cook published this page in The Latest 2024-07-29 22:13:34 +1000