The Paris Olympics opening ceremony faced widespread backlash, with prominent figures including Elon Musk and numerous Christians criticizing what they perceived as a parody of the Last Supper.
Technical difficulties and rain-drenched performers marred the event, leading some to call it the “worst ever.” Canadian singer Celine Dion was seen as the only saving grace amid the issues.
The four-hour ceremony was plagued by poor audio, exacerbated by near-torrential rain, and hundreds of thousands of spectators watched as 6,800 athletes in plastic ponchos tried to maintain high spirits while traveling down the river Seine in a flotilla of 85 boats.
Controversial acts included a recreation of Jesus Christ’s ‘The Last Supper’ and a depiction of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, by Philippe Katerine.
The recreation of ‘The Last Supper’ featured an obese woman in place of Jesus and included queer and trans figures, including a child, as apostles.
Many on social media found this offensive, describing it as “satanic symbolism and rituals.”
Despite performances from Lady Gaga and around 3,000 dancers, acrobats, and actors, the sound of rain made it difficult to hear, leading viewers to label the ceremony as “the worst Olympic opening ceremony in memory.”
South Africans also expressed their disapproval after podcaster Penuel shared a picture of the recreated “Last Supper.”
While some argued it did not represent satanic symbolism or rituals, others disagreed. Social media reactions varied:
-@DarkFantacies, remarked, “Yeah. I stopped watching after an 1h:30m. I sent my daughter to bed. That opening ceremony was disgusting.”
Another user, @JoyLethabo8, wrote, “The photo on frame 1 is not that of Jesus and Christians. I don’t understand why some Christians take offense in the #OpeningCeremony 🤔.”
-@D3vinchi, also said, “The people who run the world, The ones in darkest corners are consistently putting Christianity down. They take Christ extremely seriously and are taking more and more measures to mock and trivialize the religion. You have to ask Why ? Why go through such lengths for something that isn’t real ? Unless…’.”
Reacting differently, @NtiyisoHelmet, said, “But ppl mustn’t be misled here. These two pictures have got nothing to do with Christianity because none of them have Jesus nor his disciples.”
Nothing Islam could not mocaked in such way, @king_damane, said, “They’d never mock Muhammad people or make ‘art’ that depicts his love for young girls . It’s always Christians that catch strays and sadly , Christians tolerate this nonsense.”
Other issues during the ceremony included errors with country names, problems with the mounting of the Olympic flag, and bizarre scenes such as a headless Marie Antoinette singing.
The most controversial segment was the last supper-style performance in the ‘festivité’ scene, representing French values like freedom, fraternity, and equality.
The performance, set on a bridge over the Seine, featured a woman with a golden halo-style crown, surrounded by drag queens and dancers.
A fashion show showcasing young French designers was central to this tableau, which aimed to recreate a nightclub atmosphere despite the rain-soaked stage.
Drag Race icon Nicky Doll, among others, participated in the performance, which included dancing and lip-syncing. While some praised the performance, others criticized it as a ‘woke’ parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples.
Elon Musk, known for his conservative views, took to X (formerly Twitter) to call the performance “extremely disrespectful to Christians,” adding, “Christianity has become toothless.”
