Olympic organizers defend blasphemous opening show
July 29, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: Organizers of the Paris Olympics denied that a drag parody of the Last Supper in the opening ceremony was offensive. But spokesperson Anne Deschamps allowed: “If people have taken any offense, we are of course really, really sorry.”
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” Deschamps said, in a statement that was characterized as an apology for the blasphemous act. But she went on to say that a Harris poll had found a strong positive reaction to the opening ceremonies.
Thomas Jolly, who had directed the blasphemous act, also denied an intention to give offense. In his disingenuous statement he said that his show was not based on Leonardo’s painting, The Last Supper, but on a less known work, The Feast of the Gods, by Jan van Biljert—a painting that was inspired by Leonardo’s Last Supper.
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