The Paris Olympics organizers have apologized for featuring a drag queen parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper in the opening ceremony.
The scene received backlash from politicians, the Catholic Church, and other public figures.
According to reports, the organizers stated that they never intended to disrespect any religious group and that the ceremony aimed to celebrate community tolerance.
They expressed regret if anyone found the performance offensive. Despite the controversy, the International Olympic Committee welcomed the clarification from the Paris organizers.
On Sunday, Anne Deschamps, a Paris 2024 spokesman, said that “clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group”. Ms Deschamps said that the opening ceremony “tried to celebrate community tolerance”.
She added: “We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry.”
On Saturday, a number of prominent politicians criticised the skit, with Marion Maréchal, a far-Right member of the European Parliament, apologised to “all the Christians of the world who felt insulted”.
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, branded it insulting and “sleazy”. “Opening the Olympics by insulting billions of Christians across the world was a really bad start,” he wrote on X.