A scene from Friday’s Paris Olympics opening ceremony continued to generate online buzz all weekend, after conservatives slammed it as a blasphemous mockery of “The Last Supper” — and the event’s creative director said it was an homage to something else entirely.
The segment in question involved what many critics interpreted as a drag-inspired parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th-century painting portraying Jesus Christ and his 12 disciples at his final meal before he was crucified.
In front of a flamboyantly dressed crowd at a long table, a near-naked man in blue sang and danced after he was unveiled on a plate of fruit and flowers.
Many on the American right lambasted it as anti-Christian, including Donald Trump Jr., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who said it was part of a larger “war on our faith.” Greene and Trump Jr. suggested the ceremony was “satanic.”
However, as the event was taking place, the official Olympics account on X (formerly Twitter), had referenced the bit as an “interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus.”
The ceremony’s artistic director, David Jolly, also told French media on Sunday the scene was inspired by Dionysus, the Greek god of decadence and celebration.
“The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus,” he said. “You will never find in me a desire to mock and denigrate anyone.”
The right-wing uproar prompted much eye-rolling from opponents.
Popular social media figure and LGBTQ+ activist Matt Bernstein argued in an Instagram explainer that “even if you thought it was a Christian reference, what’s the harm? why is it a ‘parody’ and not a tribute? can drag queens not be christian too?”
Others noted that “The Last Supper” has been re-created many times before:
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) characterized the whole thing as a noncontroversy that “proves outrage is addictive.”
“People desperately searching for reasons to be offended, and it’s destructive to your soul. Take a deep breath and live your life,” he wrote.
Some speculated that the tableau was inspired by “The Feast of the Gods,” a painting by 17th-century Dutch painter Jan Hermansz van Bijlert.
A Dutch art historian posted a lengthy X thread explaining how the scene resembled the artwork, which depicts heathen gods gathered on Mount Olympus for a feast.
Other commentators cried hypocrisy, noting that Republican critics of the moment are supporting a presidential nominee, the criminally convicted Donald Trump, who hardly embodies morality.
See some of the other reactions below.