[Olympics Symbol Landmark.  Photo credit: Pexels]

The 2024 Paris Olympics were mostly trouble-free, but the opening ceremony was bombarded with heavy criticism from critics and religious figures.

On Wednesday, July 24th, France held its third Summer Olympics in the capital of Paris, marking the country's sixth Olympics; as such, the entire event was highly extravagant and glamorous compared to anything that came before.

The opening ceremony was held at Jardins du Trocadéro along the Seine River, where drag queens performed a piece resembling Leonardo Dia Vinci's painting portraying Jesus's last feast with his disciples, The Last Supper.

The uncanny resemblance to the biblical events was deemed by many as disrespectful toward Christianity, leading to two separate stances: one side criticizing the ceremony and the other defending it.

Religious figures such as Jean-Luc Melenchon, Bishop Robert Barron, and Fabrice di Vizio have openly criticized the ceremony, calling it offensive, with the consensus being that the performance was unnecessary and offended those of Christian origin without reason.

The backlash also caused C Spire, a US tech company, to pull ads for the Olympics.

The company's President stated, “C Spire is supportive of our athletes who have worked so hard to be a part of the Olympics. However, we will not be a part of the offensive and unacceptable mockery of ‘The Last Supper,’ which is why we’re pulling our advertising from the Olympics.”

In response to the controversy, Anne Descamps, the Paris 2024 spokesperson, apologized publicly and explained in an interview on behalf of Thomas Jolly and the group that performed the piece.

In the interview, she stated that the performance had no ill-bearing intent toward any religious group but was intended to celebrate the new-found tolerance our modern society has adopted, and she apologized to anyone offended by the performance and the Christian church.

In addition, Thomas Jolly, the artistic director for the Paris Olympics, also went on record distancing the performance from religious sacrilege and stating that it was intended to promote love and inclusivity in France.

CBS News correspondent Elaine Cobbe reported that the performance does not parody The Last Supper but instead depicts the Greek god of wine, Dionysus, arriving at the table as the god of celebration.

According to Thomas Jolly, the performance depicted Dionysus, the Greek god of celebration and festivity, arriving at Mount Olympus to begin the celebration, with a tweet stating that the message behind it was to show the foolishness of violence between humans.

Despite the apologies of both Thomas Jolly and Anne Descamps, the public still hasn’t warmed up to the performance, and critics continue to criticize the performers and Thomas Jolly for not considering the potential backlash while orchestrating it.

The spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharov, shamed France for their decision to make a mockery of Jesus Christ, wittingly remarking, “Apparently, in Paris, they decided that since the Olympic rings are multi-colored, they can turn everything into one big gay parade.”

As the controversy didn’t die down even after the apology, the 2024 Paris Organizing Committee was forced to apologize for the chaos the opening ceremony caused and stated that they never intended to offend anyone of any religious group.