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The Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was one of the most colorful in recent times, but it was also one of the most controversial. The image of the Last Supper represented by Drag Queen performers sparked immediate protests against the organizers, including DJ Barbara Butch, the central character of the representation.
The tableau provoked massive protests from figures in politics, art, and even sports around the world. The organizers immediately issued an explanation and a lukewarm apology, but the controversy was already in full swing.
Among the characters who rebuked the organizers are House Speaker Mike Johnson, French far-right politician Marion Marechal, and even Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.
Threats against Butch
The explanations were of little use. Audrey Msellati, Barbara Butch's lawyer, said that the artist and LGBTQ+ activist "has been threatened with death, torture and rape, and has also been the target of numerous anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist and grossophobic insults."
Msellati said that her client "condemns this vile hatred directed at her, what she represents, and what she stands for." That is why she has filed a legal complaint against the threats and said she intends to prosecute "anyone who tries to intimidate her in the future."
Butch, for his part, explained that as a result of the ceremony, she has been the target of "an extremely violent campaign of cyber-harassment and defamation."
The organizers' apologies
The organizers, Butch herself, and Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the Opening Ceremony, said it was all a misunderstanding. According to their statements, the tableau was intended to depict the Greek god Dionysus.
Organizing Committee spokeswoman Anne Deschamps said this weekend, "Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group ... If people have taken any offense we are really sorry."
Media and religious organizations around the world dismissed any misunderstanding. Looking at the tableau under a microscope, some commentators have concluded that although there was indeed a depiction of Dionysus, it occurred after the Last Supper, adding to the controversy surrounding the ceremony.