Olympic organizers apologize for drag queen show

The organizers of the Paris Olympics issued a brief apology on Sunday after coming under heavy criticism from religious groups and conservative politicians for including a bawdy scene in Friday night’s Opening Ceremony that resembled Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of France had decried it as a “mockery.”

“There was never an intention to show disrespect to a religious group,” a Paris 2024 spokeswoman said. “If people have taken any offense, we are, of course, really sorry.”

The tableau in question, on the Debilly Footbridge across the Seine, involved a group of dancers and drag queens arrayed along one side of a banquets table, including DJ Barbara Butch—described by organizers as an “LGBT icon.” The scene continued with a mostly naked figure, painted blue and portrayed by performer Philippe Katerine, singing a raunchy song in character as Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.

Without referring specifically to the banquet, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of France said on Saturday that certain elements “made Christianity the subject of derision and mockery, which we deeply deplore. This morning, our thoughts are with all Christians of all continents, who were offended by the outrageousness and provocation of a few scenes.”

Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta wrote in a social-media post that he had sent messages to the French ambassador to Malta “expressing my distress and the disappointment of many Christians at the gratuitous insult to the Eucharist during the Opening Ceremony.”