French UFC star Benoit Saint-Denis hit out at the Olympic opening ceremony, claiming that Christianity was ‘humiliated’.
The showpiece event in Paris on Friday night received a mixed reception as Celine Dion’s sublime performance capped a ceremony that included a series of gaffes and bizarre displays.
However, plenty of viewers took umbrage over an artistic segment that was reminiscent of ‘The Last Supper’.
The segment featured one of the stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nicky Doll, alongside Drag Race France pair Paloma and Piche.
The drag queens and other performers were arranged in a configuration that looked similar to that of Jesus Christ and his apostles in Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’ and received a mixed reception.
MMA fighter Saint-Denis, who served in the French army before his career change, was among those in France who criticised the opening ceremony segment.
‘Disappointed by the affront and humiliation that Christianity has suffered,’ he wrote on X on Saturday.
American professional boxer Ryan Garcia also slammed the segment.
‘The Olympics needs to be boycotted now,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘You can’t disrespect religion in front of millions. This ain’t right no one watch.’
Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony, has insisted that the ‘The Last Supper’ references had been unintentional.
‘In France we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom… [and are] lucky to live in a free country,’ Joly said.
‘We are a republic. We have the right to love who we want, we have the right not to be worshippers.’
Le Filip, who is the recent winner of Drag Race France’ said: ‘The [French] government knows what it’s doing. They want to show themselves in the best way possible. They showed no restraints in expression.’
In response to the criticism, Le Filip replied: ‘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.’
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