Should I be offended by the Olympics’ drag queen Last Supper?

Note: This post contains several updates; scroll down to the bottom to read them.

The 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony contained plenty of amazing moments. The Parade of Nations was quite picturesque as thousands of athletes drifted down the Seine through the heart of Paris. Gojira made the most of being the first metal band to perform in an opening ceremony, replete with decapitated Marie Antoinettes. The floating Olympic cauldron, a reference to the Montgolfier brothers’ aerial experiments, was definitely unique. And Céline Dion’s performance of Édith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’amour” on the Eiffel Tower was très magnifique, an iconic moment sure to go down in Olympics history.

But the ceremony was not without controversy thanks to its recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper as a fashion show featuring drag queens. The scene has been widely criticized for mocking Christianity, with comments coming from Harrison Butker (who stirred up some controversy of his own earlier this year with his comments about family and women), Elon Musk, and various conservative figures who saw the display as concrete evidence of the Olympics gone “completely woke,” and more broadly, of “contempt for Western civilization.”

Olympic officials have denied any such mockery, claiming “there was never an intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief. On the contrary, each of the tableaux in the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony were intended to celebrate community and tolerance.” Now, I hope those officials weren’t so naïve as to think that utilizing and tweaking religious imagery wouldn’t elicit any blowback whatsoever. (Have they already forgotten the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting?) At the same time, the controversy seems a bit overblown, especially since The Last Supper has no specifically religious purpose of which I’m aware.

The Last Supper was originally intended as decoration for the family mausoleum of da Vinci’s patron, which eventually became the dining hall of the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent. As far as I know, no major Christian sect or denomination employs The Last Supper as part of their worship ceremonies. What’s more, some Christians probably don’t see anything sacred about da Vinci’s painting, but rather, consider it a violation of the second commandment’s prohibition on graven images and likenesses.

If the opening ceremonies had, for instance, featured a drag version of an icon that’s actually used by Orthodox Christians, then some controversy might be warranted. But given the number of Last Supper parodies and remakes that have been churned out over the years, it’s difficult to get too worked up over this particular instance. I’ve yet to hear anyone criticize a version of The Last Supper featuring Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, the cast of Battlestar Galactica, Moe’s Tavern, or Tony Soprano as anti-Christian. As such, it’s hard to work up any significant offense at the Olympics’ version of The Last Supper just because it features drag queens as opposed to, say, a bunch of cartoon alcoholics or violent gangsters.

Was the Olympics’ Last Supper weird? Sure. Tacky and gaudy? 100%. But a mockery of my faith? There are other instances of religious appropriation that I consider far more offensive and outrageous.

Update #1 (7/27): Since publishing this post, I’ve been doing some more research into the display and it’s possible that it was never intended to be The Last Supper or reference anything specifically Christian at all. When we see what appears to be people lined up on one side of a table, our cultural background might predispose us to see The Last Supper. (There were actually people on both sides of the stage, we just didn’t see it from that angle very often.)

However, there’s evidence that suggests the display was actually referencing Greek mythology and specifically, Dionysus (although Dionysus himself was apparently cut from Peacock’s primetime re-broadcast). Also, come to think of it, The Last Supper is all the way over in Milan, Italy; there’s nothing “French” about it, so why would it be included in France’s opening ceremony? (Generally speaking, the opening ceremony is an opportunity for the host country to celebrate its own unique culture, although this ceremony was a bit more inclusive than others in the past.)

Granted, this doesn’t necessarily address anyone’s concerns re. drag culture appearing in the opening ceremony, but it could make the “religious” interpretation a bit more ambiguous, if not less anti-Christian.

Update #2 (7/28): Boy oh boy, this just gets more and more convoluted… In a recent interview on French television, opening ceremony artistic director Thomas Jolly denied that the scene was inspired by The Last Supper, claiming instead that “the idea was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus.” He continued: “You’ll never find in my work any desire to mock or denigrate anyone. I wanted a ceremony that brings people together, that reconciles, but also a ceremony that affirms our Republican values of liberty, equality, and fraternity.”

However, the Paris 2024 producers released a statement claiming that Jolly was, in fact, inspired by The Last Supper but “there was never an intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief.” More: “[Jolly] is not the first artist to make a reference to what is a world-famous work of art. From Andy Warhol to The Simpsons, many have done it before him.”

In any case, the Paris officials have ultimately apologized for any offense caused by the display. So at this point, unless there’s some new earth-shattering revelation, I’m going to move on and enjoy the Games themselves.