Scandal rocked the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The event featured lively performances from Lady Gaga and Celine Dion, but one scene drew the ire of Christians and non-Christians alike: a scene that appeared to be a parody of the Last Supper featuring a Smurf-like Dionysus in the center of the table. 

Criticism ensued almost immediately. Christians everywhere expressed outrage, French politicians apologized, and even some LGBTQ individuals and groups condemned the performance. But the biggest question is this: was it really a parody of the Last Supper, or just a depiction of ancient Greek bacchanalia? 

Honestly, it’s hard to tell. 

In giving director Thomas Jolly the benefit of the doubt—and ignoring the sanctimonious lectures from critics supporting the performance as well as the sneering retorts from professing Christians excusing it—let’s examine the evidence. 

First of all, the two scenes do look quite similar, enough that any intelligent person behind the production should have said, “Gee, this looks a lot like the Last Supper, don’t’cha think?” Everyone is lined up on one side of the table (sometimes in similar colors as the original figures in Da Vinci’s painting), with a central figure whose headpiece much more closely resembles the halo characteristic of Jesus in art than the traditional garland one finds in virtually every ancient depiction of Bacchus/Dionysus. 

Second, the Paris 2024 Olympics (English) X account has virtually nothing relating to the performance, except for one post that says, “Olympics: The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.” I laughed out loud when I read this, recalling all the myths where Dionysus is depicted as a vengeful, violent god of madness. His female followers, the Maenads, murder Orpheus and tear him to pieces in one myth. In Euripides’ play “The Bacchae,” Dionysus drives the women of Thebes into a frenzy, during which they tear Pentheus apart for denying Dionysus’ divinity. The god’s worship sometimes expressed itself in wild and even violent behavior. 

Finally, the LGBTQ+ community—especially drag performers—have a long history of parodying or reimagining Christianity or biblical stories in ways intended to cause offense. Check out Jo Clifford’s “The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven,” BibleGirl, various productions by Jackie Beat or Sherry Vine, or the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. There is a long list of performers and productions that re-envision biblical scenes in ways designed to deride the Christian faith. 

Given the fact that France (1) sees blasphemy as a prime example of free speech, and (2) is an extremely secular nation with a very long history of replacing religion with alternatives (e.g., the Temple of Reason for the Cathedral of Notre Dame in the French Revolution, or Lady Liberty for the Virgin Mary), you can see why virtually everyone interpreted the scene as a mockery of the Last Supper. And it wasn’t just Christians who did so; the performance was celebrated by some non-Christians and decried by others as anti-Christian. (So please stop all the “pearl-clutching” comments.)

One of the most telling signs is that when the director was asked about the scene, Jolly stated that his intent was not to be subversive or offensive but to “send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.” He could have explained that the performance was designed to simulate a bacchanalian festival (with the glaring omission of some satyrs), not a parody of the ‘Last Supper.’ He didn’t.

Silence, as they say, speaks volumes.