Opening ceremony organisers face backlash over ‘Last Supper’ drag show By Rob Harris July 28, 2024 https://www.smh.com.au/sport/openin...er-last-supper-drag-show-20240728-p5jx39.html Key points Paris 2024 organisers facing a backlash after drag queen parody of Jesus Christ’s Last Supper featured in the opening ceremony. Church groups and some prominent Christians have accused the director of mocking Christianity and followers of Christ. Organisers worked with the International Olympic Committee on topics they wanted to reflect in the show - including promoting LGBT and women’s rights. The organisers of the Paris Olympics are facing a backlash from Christian groups after a drag queen parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper featured in Saturday morning’s opening ceremony. They recreated the famous biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles sharing a last meal before crucifixion, but with a group of drag queens, a transgender model and a near-naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine Dionysus. It was set to music by lesbian activist DJ Barbara Butch. Tahitian dancers mingled with Olympic surfers, locals and tourists as the opening ceremony for the Summer Games commenced in French Polynesia. © International Olympic Committee The controversy went viral online within minutes, with Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of social media site X, saying the performance was “extremely disrespectful to Christians”. Organisers had worked with the International Olympic Committee on the topics they wanted to reflect in the show – including promoting LGBT and women’s rights. Wendy Francis, national director of politics for the Australian Christian Lobby, said the Games had “disgracefully besmirched” the last supper with “sexualised men pretending to be women parodying it”. “Christians participating in the Games must feel absolutely betrayed by this crude display, ridiculing the greatest event in history – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper,” she said. “France has betrayed its predominantly Catholic nation. Western culture is doomed, having lost its foundation and its moral compass.” An interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus has annoyed some observers of the opening ceremony.Credit: Twitter Paris’s drag queens made a succession of appearances throughout the ceremony in a nod to the history of a country that has produced such plays as La Cage Aux Folles – which went on to become the first Broadway hit featuring male homosexuality in 1983. France, while proud of its rich Catholic heritage, also has a long tradition of secularism and anti-clericalism. Blasphemy is not only legal, but also considered by many as an essential pillar of freedom of speech in a democratic society. But the French Bishops’ Conference said it deplored “scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity”. Former Wallaby Israel Folau also took aim at organisers, saying the fact they were “openly mocking Jesus shows you the power that’s in his name”. Folau, who took Rugby Australia to court in 2019 over his controversial sacking for writing anti-gay posts on social media, used Instagram on Saturday night to pan the performance. “The devil knows it very well and doesn’t want you to know the truth. Jesus said he is the way the truth and the life. There isn’t any other way.” Paris 2024 artistic director Thomas Jolly said the ceremony was based on a theme of “inclusion” and he “wanted to talk about diversity”. “In France, we have artistic freedom. We have the right to love who we want. We have the right not to be worshippers. We have a lot of rights and this is what I wanted to convey.”
Mick how come they didn’t do it with Mohammed, Abu Baker, Umar, Uthman and Ali? Oh, Charlie Hebdo, I forgot that the French are not that courageous.
French are more relaxed, they're not cultish and hung up about religion, something America and Israel could do more of. Some countries, religious fairytales accompanied with its indignation, antisemitism claims and heresy are a big deal, others don't buy into it.
Paris’ Olympics opening was wacky and wonderful — and upset bishops. Here’s why Delegations arrive at the Trocadero as spectators watch French singer Philippe Katerine performing on a giant screen, in Paris, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP) By JOHN LEICESTER July 28, 2024 https://apnews.com/article/olympics...er-criticism-9dd5fc5f1849ce9b0720fa997f38ed27 PARIS (AP) — Paris: the Olympic gold medalist of naughtiness. Revolution ran like a high-voltage wire through the wacky, wonderful and rule-breaking Olympic opening ceremony that the French capital used to astound, bemuse and, at times, poke a finger in the eye of global audiences on Friday night. That Paris put on the most flamboyant, diversity-celebrating, LGBTQ+-visible of opening ceremonies wasn’t a surprise. Anything less would have seemed a betrayal of the pride the French capital takes in being a home to humanity in all its richness. But still. Wow. Paris didn’t just push the envelope. It did away with it entirely as it hammered home a message that freedom must know no bounds. A practically naked singer painted blue made thinly veiled references to his body parts. Blonde-bearded drag queen Piche crawled on all fours to the thumping beat of “Freed From Desire” by singer-songwriter Gala, who has long been a potent voice against homophobia. There were the beginnings of a menage à trois — the door was slammed on the camera before things got really steamy — and the tail end of an intimate embrace between two men who danced away, hugging and holding hands. “In France, we have the right to love each other, as we want and with who we want. In France, we have the right to believe or to not believe. In France, we have a lot of rights. Voila,” said the audacious show’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly. Jolly, who is gay, says being bullied as a child for supposedly being effeminate drove home early on how unjust discrimination is. The amorous vibe and impudence were too much for some. “Know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation,” posted far-right French politician Marion Maréchal, adding a hashtagged “notinmyname.” Here’s a closer look at how Paris both awed and shocked. A 21st-century update of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’ DJ and producer Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon who calls herself a “love activist,” wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo as she got a party going on a footbridge across the Seine, above parading athletes — including those from countries that criminalize LGBTQ+ people. Drag artists, dancers and others flanked Butch on both sides. The tableau brought to mind Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” which depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him. Jolly says that wasn’t his intention. He saw the moment as a celebration of diversity, and the table on which Butch spun her tunes as a tribute to feasting and French gastronomy. “My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly said. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.” Still, critics couldn’t unsee what they saw. “One of the main performances of the Olympics was an LGBT mockery of a sacred Christian story - the Last Supper - the last supper of Christ. The apostles were portrayed by transvestites,” the spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, posted on Telegram. “Apparently, in Paris they decided that since the Olympic rings are multi-colored, they can turn everything into one big gay parade,” she added. The French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops deplored what it described as “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity” and said “our thoughts are with all the Christians from all continents who were hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.” LGBTQ+ athletes, though, seemed to have a whale of a time. British diver Tom Daley posted a photo of himself recreating the standout Kate Winslet-Leonardo DiCaprio scene from “Titanic,” only with the roles reversed: He was at the boat’s prow with arms outstretched, as rower Helen Glover held him from behind. Is that a revolver in your pocket? When a giant silver dome lifted to reveal singer Philippe Katerine reclining on a crown of fruit and flowers, practically naked and painted blue, audiences who didn’t think he was Papa Smurf may have guessed that he represented Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstasy. But unless they speak French, they may not have caught the cheekiness of his lyrics. “Where to hide a revolver when you’re completely naked?” he sang, pointing down to his groin. “I know where you’re thinking. But that’s not a good idea.” “No more rich and poor when you go back to being naked. Yes,” Katerine continued. Decades after Brigitte Bardot sang “Naked in the Sun,” this was Paris’ reminder that everyone starts life in their birthday suit, so where’s the shame? Paris museums are full of paintings that celebrate the human form. Gustave Courbet’s “Origin of the World” hangs in the Musée d’Orsay. The 16th-century “Gabrielle d’Estrées and one of her sisters,” showing one bare-breasted woman pinching the nipple of another, hangs in the Louvre. France sends a message Clad in a golden costume, French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura strode confidently out of the hallowed doors of the Institut de France, a prestigious stronghold of French language, culture and commitment to freedom of thought. Even without a note being sung, the message of diversity, inclusion and Black pride was loud. The most listened-to French-speaking artist in the world was a target of fierce attacks from extreme-right activists when her name emerged earlier this year as a possible performer at the show. Paris prosecutors opened an investigation of alleged racism targeting the singer. Nakamura performed with musicians of the French military’s Republican Guard, who danced around her. Au revoir, closed minds and stuffy traditions. Off with their head! When London hosted the Summer Games in 2012, it paid homage to the British monarchy by giving Queen Elizabeth II a starring role in the opening ceremony. Actor Daniel Craig, in character as James Bond, was shown visiting the head of state at Buckingham Palace before the pair appeared to parachute out of a helicopter over the stadium. The French love to joyfully tease their neighbors across the English Channel and, perhaps not incidentally, took a totally different, utterly irreverent tack. A freshly guillotined Marie Antoinette, France’s last queen before the French Revolution of 1789, was shown clutching her severed head, singing: “The aristocrats, we’ll hang them.” Then, heavy metal band Gojira tore the Paris evening with screeching electric guitar. Freedom: Does anyone do it better than the French? __ AP journalists Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.
I respect you but you missed my point. Would the French have done a drag queen spread of Mohammed and big four? We both know the answer!
In reply, unfortunately this won’t be a quick simple answer, but I’ll try and keep it brief and is only my opinion. Religion is complicated and diverse, because it’s a fantasy constructed from ‘mens’ imagination. Religion is as diverse as anyone’s imagination can be, it’s all over the shop. If you had a roadway containing a 1000 churches or mosques from the same religion, they would all be preaching a slightly different message of how they see ‘God’ or Muhammed. So getting to the question “would the French have done a drag queen spread of Muhammed...” It depends, but probably not and here are the reasons imo. Muslims and Christians and Jews all share similarities. These religions share a common thread of a ‘Book’ (Torah, Koran, Bible) with roots which recognise the Ten Commandments, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Eber, Job, Joseph, David, and a few others without digging too deep. For centuries Jew, Christians, Muslims have lived side by side, sometimes in harmony, other times in dispute. Depending on society circumstances depends on their tolerance level at any one time. If they are being treated well, their tolerance increases, if they live in hardship, tolerance is on a short fuse. Intolerance seems to raise its ugly head for brief periods of time. A lack of a sense of humor doesn’t help the situation and unfortunately many fundamental religions lack the ability to laugh at themselves. Charlie Hebdo incident many years ago being one such example. What is tolerance, by whom’s definition does one use tolerance? There’s an interesting web link: https://news.gallup.com/poll/157082/islamophobia-understanding-anti-muslim-sentiment-west.aspx And it appears American in general are intolerant of Muslims. A muslim radical may let off a suicide bomb, while a mainstream American/European/Australian.... Might deprive a muslim of a job or a house or equal opportunity which affects their families for generations. So back to the question “would French have done a drag queen spread of Muhammed...” Probably not because some radical Muslims have a short fuse no less then some some radical jews have a short fuse as is in the case of Gaza atm. Christians too could be considered in America with a short fuse, their houses armed to the teeth with guns no different from non christians, all the while claiming ‘God’ is their protection and rock. But Christians on the whole atm are the privileged class, have jobs, good income, security, surrounded by family, so they are not under stress atm to feel the need to be violently radical. Many Muslims atm are displaced, in a difficult financial situation, are out of their normal surroundings, hence will probably be under more stress and intolerance imo. Yeah, it’s a complicated question and a complicated reply.