Paris Games organizers “apologised on Sunday to Catholics and other Christian groups angered by a kitsch tableau" in the opening ceremony that parodied Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" painting. The ceremony segment “featured drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer” and “drew dismay from the Catholic Church" (REUTERS, 7/28). The scene “quickly went viral,” with social media users around the world "unleashing over the decision to insult Christians around the world” (AUSTRALIAN, 7/28).
Opening Ceremony Artistic Dir Thomas Jolly has been “largely lauded for the artistic vision he displayed during the ceremony.” When asked about the furor during a press conference Saturday, he said that he “did not understand why there was a fuss.” Jolly said, “We have the right to love who we want. We have the right not to be worshippers. We have a lot of rights in France and this is what I wanted to convey. These are values that are important to us. So, quite frankly, I’m not sure what you’re talking about” (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 7/27). Jolly “emphasized that the his choices were not meant ‘to be subversive, mock or shock’” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/27).
Mississippi-based telecommunications and technology company C Spire "dropped its Olympic advertising" after the “apparent parody of the Last Supper.” C Spire declined to share what form of advertisements were pulled or “how much they forked over to be part" of the Paris Games (N.Y. POST, 7/27).
