Artists who participated in the parody sketch at the heart of mounting controversy over the opening ceremony to the Paris Olympics have confirmed that the performance was intended to imitate Leonardo da Vinci’s famed painting of the Last Supper.
The confirmation was made in online social media posts and in
comments to the press, and goes against the explanation offered by the
Paris Olympics’ organising committee that the controversial scene was an
“interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus [that] makes us aware of the
absurdity of violence between human beings”.
The French drag queen and rapper known as Piche from the show Drag Race France spoke to French media, saying the intention was to create a tableau of the Last Supper.
“I received a lot of messages of support and people who were very happy that I was there and very surprised that there were drag queens at the opening ceremony,” he said, adding the opposition to the performance indicates that “we’ve succeeded and we’ve done what had to be done, that we’ve been fair and representative”.
“Art always divides. As long as it doesn’t move people, it’s not art for me,” he said, arguing that the parody of the Last Supper “is not a provocation” as “it’s a biblical representation that has been reused in pop culture for decades and it’s never really been a problem”.
“There were no real provocations or anything that was truly obscene. We didn’t make fun of the painting at all…it’s really just because it’s queers and drag queens who use that representation that it bothers,” he said.
Similarly, Barbara Butch, a lesbian who donned a silver aureole halo crown headdress and low-cut dress while portraying the figure of Jesus in the Last Supper sketch, said the opening ceremony was intended to bring people together.
According to her Instagram profile, Butch is “a Love activist, Dj and producer based in Paris. My aim is to unite people, gather humans & share love through music for all of Us to dance & make our hearts beat (in unison)! Music sounds better with all of Us!”
Butch posted a screenshot image of her performance in the Last Supper parody above an image of Da Vinci’s original painting to her Instagram account with the comment, “Oh yes! Oh yes! The new gay testament!”
The post was subsequently deleted.
The French Bishops Conference released a statement saying
that while the ceremony “offered the world a marvellous display of
beauty and joy, rich in emotion and universally acclaimed”, it also
“unfortunately included scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity,
which we deeply regret”.
“We are thinking of all the Christians on every continent who have been hurt by the outrageousness and provocation of certain scenes”, the bishops say, adding that “we want them to understand that the Olympic celebration goes far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists”.