The Vatican broke its silence Saturday on 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 controversially replaced the biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his apostles sharing a final meal before his crucifixion with drag queens, a transgender model and singer dressed as Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and pleasure.
The Vatican said that the performance, which sparked global outrage, showed a 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,” it 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 said.
Olympics officials initially denied that the performance was based on Da Vinci’s painting — but a spokesperson later confirmed the painting was artistic director Thomas Jolly’s inspiration.
A group of 18 performers — including three from “Drag Race France” — struck poses behind an elongated long 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 that resembled a halo as depicted in paintings of Jesus. She smiled and made a heart shape with her hands as her peers stared down the camera before breaking out into a dance routine.
French Catholic bishops and other Christians claimed that the show was offensive. Former President Donald Trump slammed the opening ceremonies 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 show.
Paris Olympics organizers issued an apology after the backlash and said 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, said she had 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.