Nearly a week on from the Paris Olympics opening ceremony and controversy continues over the evening’s entertainment.
The main point of contention remains the tableau entitled “Festivité”, featuring dancers, LGBTQ icons and drag artists like Nicky Doll, Paloma, and Barbara Butch.
According to its detractors, the sequence was a “blasphemous” parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”.
The ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly has repeatedly said that it wasn’t inspired by “The Last Supper,” and that the sequence was “a great pagan festival linked to the gods of Olympus.”
Still, the French Bishops' Conference (CEF) deplored “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity”; Andrew Tate, the controversial media personality awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, said it mocked Christian values; Elon Musk weighed in with similar fears; and, of course, Donald Trump couldn’t resist chipping in, describing the opening ceremony, and in particular the 'drag-queen sequence', a “disgrace”.
Following the uproar, DJ and activist Barbara Butch faced a flood of online abuse, which has led to French police launching a formal investigation.
Now, Hugo Bardin, the French drag queen Paloma, who is best known for winning Drag Race France, has spoken out on the hugely divisive segment.
“It was a really important moment for the French people and the representation of France around the world,” Paloma said, stressing that the show presented a multifaceted portrait of France with people of different ethnicities and orientations.
Speaking to AP, Paloma shared that she is not currently planning to take legal action over online harassment – describing some of the messages as “violent” and “from the Middle Ages.”
She added that she was proud to have been part of a show that distanced itself from the traditional French cliches - for example, “the Parisian with a baguette under their arm.”
“It could have been a postcard from 1930,” she said of the ceremony. “But instead, it was a photograph of France in 2024.”
When asked about Trump’s comments on Fox News, Paloma said: “My first reaction is to say that if Donald Trump is not reacting, then we have not done our job."
The criticism, she said, has been fueled by hate. “Where is the Catholicism, the Christianity in that? It is very hypocritical that their message is not about religion or kindness, it’s about hate towards Jews, fat people, queer people and trans people.”
“We have been accused of trying to impose our vision on the world,” Paloma 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.”
When asked if she had any regrets, Paloma replied: “My only regret is people's reactions.”
“I’m sorry if people are offended but we did not try to parody, to mock ‘The Last Supper.’ It was not the point. So I can't regret what I did. I’m sorry for people to only see things in a bad way.”
She added: “Maybe change the perspective. Change the point of view. Try to see the beauty in what we did. Because it was just beauty. It was just only about beauty and reunion, and reparation.”
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