The Vatican broke its silence Saturday regarding the controversial drag performance that mocked Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic “Last Supper” painting during the 2024 Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony last week.
The segment of the July 26 ceremony replaced the biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his apostles sharing a final meal before his crucifixion with drag queens, a transgender model, and a singer dressed as Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and pleasure.
The Vatican criticized the performance, which sparked global outrage, for its lack of “respect for others.”
“The Holy See was saddened by certain scenes at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games and cannot but join the voices raised in recent days to deplore the offense done to many Christians and believers of other religions,” the Vatican said in an unusual weekend evening press release.
“At a prestigious event where the whole world comes together to share common values, there should be no allusions ridiculing the religious convictions of many people. The freedom of expression, which is clearly not called into question here, is limited by respect for others,” the Vatican added.
Olympics officials initially denied that the performance was based on Da Vinci’s painting, but a spokesperson later confirmed that the painting was indeed the inspiration for artistic director Thomas Jolly.
A group of 18 performers, including three from “Drag Race France,” struck poses behind an elongated table with the Seine River and Eiffel Tower looming in the background. At the center was an ornately dressed woman with a large silver headdress resembling a halo, as often depicted in paintings of Jesus. She smiled and made a heart shape with her hands as her peers stared down the camera before breaking into a dance routine.
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French Catholic bishops and other Christians claimed that the show was offensive. Former President Donald Trump condemned the opening ceremony as “a disgrace.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, conservative French European parliament member Marion Maréchal, and Hungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, Eduard Habsburg, also condemned the performance.
Paris Olympics organizers issued an apology following the backlash, stating there was “never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group” but rather to “celebrate community tolerance.”
One of the performers, Hugo Bardin, who performs as the drag queen Paloma, expressed no regrets about the ceremony. “We have been accused of trying to impose our vision on the world,” Bardin said. “We are not. … We just want to let people know that we have a place in the world, and we are claiming that place,” Bardin, a former “Drag Race France” champion, told the Associated Press.
