A drag queen who was one of the many torchbearers for the Paris Olympics had a message for the critics amid uproar over the opening ceremony which appeared to mock the Last Supper.
Nicky Doll was among the drag queens to carry the torch of the Olympic flame but also performed during one segment of the ceremony. Doll reposted an image on his Instagram Stories, claiming the image depicted was not of the Last Supper but the feast of Dionysius.
“The opening ceremony did ruffle some feathers… and I LOVE it,” Doll wrote on his Instagram Stories on Monday morning. “You know why? Because the Olympics are the biggest stage in the world and us queer people have always been the audience of other people’s life and achievement and it is time that we are welcome in the space.”
On Sunday, Doll called it an honor to perform at the opening ceremony.
“It was my absolute honor to perform in front of billions of people around the world, and celebrate our Olympians,” Doll’s post continued.
“And remember, to the ones that had their feathers ruffled seeing queerness on their screen: WE AIN’T GOING NOWHERE.”
The ceremony’s segment appeared to resemble a depiction of the Last Supper, famously painted by Leonardo da Vinci. The performance ensemble included drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer who was stylized to resemble the Greek god Dionysus.
Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps spoke about it on Sunday.
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. (The opening ceremony) tried to celebrate community tolerance,” Descamps told reporters, via Reuters.
“We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry.”
Another French LGBT leader suggested the ceremony did not go far enough.
“We know in the LGBTQ community in France we are far from what the ceremony showed. There’s much progress to do in society regarding transgender people. It’s terrible that to legally change their identity they are forced to be on trial,” Inter-LGBT President James Leperlier said.
“If you saw the opening ceremony last night you’d think it was like that normally, but it’s not. France tried to show what it should be and not what it is.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
