PARIS — In an unprecedented display of inclusivity, drag queens took center stage at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, showcasing the vibrant and influential role of the French LGBTQ community — while also attracting criticism over a tableau reminiscent of “The Last Supper.”
Held along the Seine River, the spectacular four-hour event featured global stars such as Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, both considered queer icons. The ceremony blended historic and modern French culture with a touch of kitsch, culminating in a flotilla of barges carrying thousands of Olympians.
Nicky Doll, known for competing on the 12th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and hosting Drag Race France, participated in a high-octane fashion runway segment along with Drag Race France Season 1 winner Paloma, Season 3′s Piche, and Giselle Palmer. Initially, they stood alongside the runway, gazing fiercely at the strutting models. Later, they joined in, showcasing their own style.
Delegations arrive at the Trocadero as spectators watch French singer Philippe Katerine performing on a giant screen, in Paris, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin / AP)
Le Filip, the recent winner of Drag Race France, expressed their positive “surprise” and “pride” at the ceremony’s scale and representation.
“I thought it would be a five-minute drag event with queer representation. I was amazed. It started with Lady Gaga, then we had drag queens, a huge rave, and a fire in the sky,” they said. “It felt like a crowning all over again. I am proud to see my friends and queer people on the world stage.”
Among their bold performances was a scene that seemed to evoke Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” featuring the drag queens and other performers in a configuration reminiscent of Jesus Christ and his apostles. This segment drew significant attention — and mixed reactions.
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DJ and producer Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ icon, wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo as she got a party going on a footbridge across the Seine, above parading athletes — including those from countries that criminalize LGBTQ people. Drag artists, dancers and others flanked Butch on both sides.
The tableau brought to mind da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” which depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him.
Thomas Jolly, the show’s artistic director, says that wasn’t his intention. He saw the moment as a celebration of diversity, and the table on which Butch spun her tunes as a tribute to feasting and French gastronomy.
“My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly said. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”
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Still, critics couldn’t unsee what they saw.
The French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops deplored what it described as “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity” and said “our thoughts are with all the Christians from all continents who were hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.”
LGBTQ athletes, though, seemed to have a whale of a time. British diver Tom Daley posted a photo of himself recreating the standout Kate Winslet-Leonardo DiCaprio scene from Titanic, only with the roles reversed: He was at the boat’s prow with arms outstretched, as rower Helen Glover held him from behind.
“The [French] government knows what it’s doing. They want to show themselves in the best way possible. They showed no restraints in expression,” Le Filip told The Associated Press.
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On the other hand, prominent far-right politician Marion Maréchal denounced the performance on social media.
“To all the Christians of the world who are watching the Paris 2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation,” she posted on the social platform X, a sentiment that was echoed by religious conservatives internationally.
“… because decapitating Habsburgs and ridiculising central Christian events are really the FIRST two things that spring to mind when you think of #OlympicGames,” Eduard Habsburg, Hungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, posted on X, also referencing a scene depicting the beheading of Marie Antoinette.
Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony, afterward drew attention away from “The Last Supper” references, saying that hadn’t been his intention.
Le Filip responded to the criticism of the scene with a touch of humor and sorrow.
“It feels like the words of somebody who didn’t get on the guest list. We could all be laughing together. It’s sad to me, honestly,” they said.
Inter-LGBT President James Leperlier was more circumspect, arguing that France still has significant strides to make in inclusivity.
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“We know in the LGBTQ community in France we are far from what the ceremony showed. There’s much progress to do in society regarding transgender people. It’s terrible that to legally change their identity they are forced to be on trial,” Leperlier said.
He also highlighted the disparity in acceptance, saying that the community is not visible in other official ceremonies and “has difficulty being heard.”
“If you saw the opening ceremony last night you’d think it was like that normally, but it’s not. France tried to show what it should be and not what it is,” he said.
Drag and the voguing nightclub scene in France
The opening ceremony came as drag and the voguing nightclub scene in France has experienced a revival. The cabaret club Madame Arthur, founded in 1946 in the ashes of World War II, is one of the world’s oldest continually running LGBTQ+= theaters. It opened as Europe was only just beginning to understand the extent of the widespread murder of members of the queer community in WWII and is currently experiencing a massive renaissance.
Drag is not just a pastime; for many minority French communities who feel alienated over tensions arising from divisive politics and scars from the anti-gay marriage protests a decade ago, it’s a statement of defiance. Many gay Black and Arab youths — especially those from Paris’ less affluent and religiously conservative suburbs — and others who feel a sense of disconnect with French society find voguing and drag events safe places where their identities can be expressed without fear of reprisal.
Despite the backlash, Le Filip believes the opening ceremony will ultimately transcend controversy.
“The message of the show is freedom, and it’s a good postcard for France,” they concluded.
By THOMAS ADAMSON, The Associated Press
Associated Press journalist John Leicester contributed reporting.
