Drag performance at Olympics opening ceremony sparks controversy as viewers left offended by 'parody of Last Supper'

After an opening ceremony marred by attacks on France's national infrastructure, the 2024 Paris Olympics are now underway.

But surprisingly, it's not the arson attacks targeting the French rail network's 'nerve centres' that has Twitter talking, but one certain aspect of the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony for the Olympics is often the source of controversy as people are conflicted about the way in which a host nation has chosen to present itself.

In an unusual move, Paris opted to forgo hosting in a stadium, and instead paraded athletes and performers down the Seine river in barges.

These performances are big, loud, and exuberant ways to mark the most gifted athletes in the world coming together in a moment of international unity and peace.

As part of this, one section of the opening ceremony involved a group of drag performers.

The 2024 Paris Olympics are officially underway following a historic opening ceremony. (Christian Liewig - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

The 18 performers stood behind a low table with one performer in the centre wearing a large head dress or crown.

On the Olympics Twitter page, the performance was described as an “interpretation of the Greek God [of wine] Dionysus” which was intended to make “us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”

That all sounds very much in the spirit of the Olympics, but the performance has drawn a furious response from certain people on Twitter.

They have accused the performance of 'mocking' the Last Supper, and drew attention to the imagery being similar to that of Leonardo Da Vinci's famous fresco The Last Supper.

A Bacchanalian scene (BBC)

This was apparently because it had a group of people standing on one side of a table, an arrangement which appears there and nowhere else in human history or culture.

Traditionally, the Last Supper had 12 disciples and Jesus present, while this one appears to have four gatecrashers.

Far right french politician Marion Maréchal, who is a practicing Catholic, took to Twitter, posting: “To all the Christians of the world who are watching the #Paris2024 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.”

Some might say it's hardly inkeeping with France's foundational principle of 'laïcité', which encourages politicians to keep their religious beliefs confined to their private life.

Who are the extra disciples? (BBC)

But Maréchal was far from alone, as US podcast host Clint Russell was also left clutching his pearls at the opening ceremony, writing on Twitter: “This is crazy. Opening your event by replacing Jesus and the disciples at the Last Supper with men in drag.

“There are 2.4 billion Christians on earth and apparently the Olympics wanted to declare loudly to all of them, right out of the gate NOT WELCOME."

Others called the performance 'blasphemy' and an 'abomination'.

It was far from the only controversial moment in the ceremony, with another supposedly depicting a 'headless' Marie Antoinette and another suggesting a sexual encounter in France's national library.