Donald Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the Paris Olympics opening ceremony was a “disgrace” due to its controversial moment involving a tableau that some viewers believed to be a recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” only the Olympics version replaced the painting’s religious figures with drag queens. However, organizers for the event have stressed the moment was not a nod to “The Last Supper” but to the feast of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.
When Ingraham brought up how the opening ceremony mocked “The Last Supper,” Trump weighed in and said: “I thought it was a disgrace.” The Fox News host then asked if Trump will “have enough influence on the organizers that we won’t be insulting Christians” if he is elected president again, as his potential term would overlap with the 2028 summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Calif.
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“We won’t be having a Last Supper, as portrayed the way they portrayed it the other night,” Trump answered. “I just think — look, I’m for everybody. I’m very open-minded. You understand me. You know me better than most people know me. I’m very open-minded, but I thought what they did was a disgrace.”
The opening ceremony tableau has also earned scorn from several Hollywood conservatives, including Rob Schneider and Candace Cameron Bure. Schneider said he would be boycotting the rest of the Paris games because the controversial tableau openly celebrated satan. Bure called the tableau “disgusting.”
Olympics artistic director Thomas Jolly spoke to French outlet BFMTV after the opening ceremony and denied that “The Last Supper” even served as a reference. Instead, Jolly said the idea was to “have a grand pagan festival connected to the gods of Olympus” as the tableau prominently featured a version ofDionysus.
Olympics spokesperson Anne Descamps told the AP that “clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” adding: “We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense we are really sorry.”
In the wake of controversy over the tableau, French DJ and activist Barbara Butch has filed several police reports after receiving death threats for her participation in the segment. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office confirmed toPvNewthat a complaint for cyber-harassment had been received.
