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The organizers of the Paris Olympics apologized to Christian and Catholic groups on July 28 over a parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” painting that was recreated during last week’s opening ceremony.
The segment on July 26 copied the biblical scene of Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles sharing the last meal before his crucifixion, but depicted drag queens, a transgender individual, and a nude singer.
“Clearly, there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. [The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance,” Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps told a news conference on July 28, responding to the backlash that erupted in the aftermath of the performance.
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“We believe this ambition was achieved,” the spokesperson added. “If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry.”
The International Olympic Committee said in a later statement that it has “taken note of and welcomes the clarification given by the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee regarding the Opening Ceremony.”
“In the daily press briefing, the Organizing Committee said that there was never any intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief. They reiterated that their intention with the Opening Ceremony was always to celebrate community and tolerance,” the statement continued, adding that the intention wasn’t to offend anyone and that “they were sorry.”
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The ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, has attempted to distance his scene from any “Last Supper” parallels after the ceremony, saying during a news conference that it was meant to celebrate “diversity” and “to include everyone.”
The apology was made after thousands of people on social media said they would boycott the Olympic Games after the ceremony, with many using a boycott-related hashtag to express their displeasure.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in France said it deplored a ceremony that “included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.” Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the highest-ranking Catholic official in Malta and an official for the Vatican’s powerful doctrinal office, said his office complained to France’s ambassador to Malta.
“I would like to express my distress and great disappointment at the insult to us Christians during the opening ceremony … when a group of drag artists parodied the Last Supper of Jesus,” the archbishop wrote on social media.
Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, wrote on social media that “the mockery of the Last Supper” at the Paris Olympics ”reveals a profound question.”
Responding to separate gaffe at the ceremony, Olympic Games organizers said they “deeply apologize” for introducing South Korea’s athletes as North Korea during the opening ceremony in Paris.
As the South Korean athletes waved their nation’s flag on a boat floating down the Seine River on July 26, they were announced in both French and English as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea, a country that’s technically still at war with South Korea, also called the Republic of Korea.
“We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the Korean team during the opening ceremony broadcast,” the International Olympic Committee said in a post on X in Korean, according to a translation.
International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams told reporters that the error was “clearly deeply regrettable.”
“An operational mistake was made,“ Mr. Adams said in response to a question from a South Korean journalist during a news conference on July 27. ”We can only apologize, in an evening of so many moving parts, that this mistake was made.”
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
