Topline
Olympics organizers have apologized for staging a scene during the opening ceremony that appeared to parody Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” with drag queens, after the scene sparked an uproar from some U.S. religious and conservative leaders and right-wing pundits, echoing protests in recent years against drag performances.
Key Facts
Late into the opening ceremony of the Paris Summer Olympics on Friday night, cameras cut to a long table overlooking the Seine River filled with drag stars appearing to resemble Jesus and the 12 apostles in Da Vinci’s fresco masterpiece (Paris Olympics ceremony director Thomas Jolly later told French outlet BFM TV the scene was a nod to Greek mythology, and not “The Last Supper”).
Right-wing pundits and some lawmakers took to social media shortly after, questioning why the scene was included in the opening ceremony, with former CNN host Piers Morgan posting: “Would they have mocked any other religion like this? Appalling decision.”
Donald Trump Jr. re-posted a photo of the depiction, saying, “They’re not even pretending anymore,” while billionaire SpaceX, Tesla and X owner Elon Musk called the parody “extremely disrespectful to Christians” in a post on his social media platform.
On Saturday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., blasted the scene, calling it “shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world.”
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Actor and comedian Rob Schneider said he would boycott watching the Olympics, arguing in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the scene “disrespects Christianity and openly celebrates Satan,” while “Full House” star Candace Cameron Bure slammed the parody in an Instagram post, saying it “mock[d] the Christian faith,” saying it made her “sad for souls.”
Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis also criticized the move as “[o]vert pagan and satanic symbolism,” and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker—who sparked controversy by suggesting women should focus on being mothers —called the parody “crazy” in a story on Instagram.
Some Christian bishops also bemoaned the parody: Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron, a prominent U.S. Catholic leader, called it a “gross mockery” and emblematic of a “deeply secularist postmodern society,” while Wisconsin-based Bishop Donald Hying slammed it as “blasphemy,” and Texas-based Bishop Daniel Flores posted: “the agendas just use the athletes; they deserve more respect. So do people of Christian Faith.”
The parody also drew backlash from conservative commentators, with one arguing the scene was a message to Christians that they are “NOT WELCOME,” and another claiming the Olympics have “gone full Woke dystopian,” while also arguing the depiction of a white horse carrying the Olympic flag was a reference to the pale horse, a sign of death in the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible.
Right-wing filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza—whose 2022 conspiracy documentary “2000 Mules” laid out a far-right claim the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump—called the “Last Supper” parody “blasphemous,” saying: “Outrageous and disrespectful doesn’t begin to cover it.”
Contra
Many on social media platforms were quick to point out the Olympics rendition of “The Last Supper” was far from the first parody of the Da Vinci painting, a frequent target of satire, with more recent examples used by TV shows such as “The Simpsons,” “Billions” and “The Sopranos,” and with celebrities portraying the role of Jesus, from Freddie Mercury to Marilyn Monroe.
Key Background
Drag queens became the target of right-wing criticism in recent years, coinciding with right-wing pushback against companies that have embraced LGBTQ messaging, and as some GOP-led states push for anti-trans legislation, including bans on trans students in locker rooms and bathrooms that align with their gender identities. Right-wing protests against drag have come partly in response to a series of so-called Drag Story Hour events, with some GOP lawmakers baselessly claiming the events sexualize children, and House Republicans introduced the “Stop the Sexualization of Children” act in 2022. The Anti-Defamation League later said those claims of “grooming children” are baseless and “bigoted.” But protests around the story hour events persisted, leading to the cancellation of some events, including a 2022 event in San Francisco disrupted by the far-right Proud Boys.
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