The ‘naked blue man’ who starred in the bizarre Last Supper parody at Olympic opening ceremony has broken his silence on the controversial stunt.
French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine was playing the role of the Greek god of wine Dionysus in a recreation of the famous biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles sharing a last meal before the crucifixion.
But the artistic imitation, which also included a group of drag queens and a transgender model, has caused offence among some Christians for making a ‘gross mockery’ of the religion.
However Mr Katerine seemed to dismiss the critics, telling BFM TV today: ‘It wouldn’t be fun if there were no controversy. Wouldn’t it be boring if everyone agreed on this planet?’
Although others were less impressed, accusing organisers of creating a ‘woke’ parody of the iconic painting by Leonardo da Vinci.
It showed models, dancers, fashion icons and drag queens from the host nation, as they gathered on a bridge over the capital’s river around a table, which also doubled as a catwalk.
At the centre was a woman in front of DJ equipment with a golden halo-style crown, surrounded by several drag queens and dozens of dancers and performers.
A fashion show which showcased clothing designed by some of France’s most promising young designers took centre stage, as those seated on either side performed slick choreography.
Among those present was Drag Race icon Nicky Doll, who has appeared on the French franchise, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World and now hosts France’s own version.
Some puzzled viewers were left confused and labelled the Mr Katerine’s portrayal as Dionysus a ‘smurf’ on social media.
He dressed in a skintight blue bodysuit that left very little to the imagination, and was seen resting on a giant platter bedecked in fake fruits and other foods.
The Catholic church in France criticised the segment, with the Conference of French bishops releasing a statement which said: ‘This ceremony has unfortunately included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we very deeply deplore.’
Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk, who recently backed Donald Trump from the US presidency following the assassination attempt on his life, claimed the Last Supper depiction was ‘extremely disrespectful to Christians’.
He added: ‘Christianity has become toothless.’
Reacting to the event, Catholic Bishop Robert Barron, from the US, posted a video online and said: ‘I love the Olympics, so I turn on the opening ceremony of the Olympics. And what do I see now? It’s in Paris, France, a city I love, I spent three years as a doctoral student there.
‘I see this gross mockery of the last supper and I won’t describe it any further.
‘France felt evidently as it’s trying to put its best cultural foot forward, that the right thing to do is to mock this very central moment in Christianity where Jesus at his last supper gives his body and blood in anticipation of the cross.
‘It’s presented through this gross or flippant mockery. France which used to be called the oldest daughter of the church.’
He added: ‘France has sent Catholic visionaries all over the world. France whose culture and I mean the honouring of the individual, in human rights and of freedom is grounded very much in Christianity.
‘It [France] felt the right thing to do was to mock the Christian faith.
‘Now a question I would pose, and we all know the answer to it, would they ever have dared mock Islam in a similar way. Would they ever have dreamed mocking in this gross and public way, a scene from the Qu’ran. And as I say we all know the answer.
‘What’s interesting here is this deeply secularist, [post-modern society knows who its enemy is, they’re naming them, and we should believe them, because this is who they are.
‘But furthermore we Christians, Catholics, should not be sheepish. We should resist, we should make our voices heard.’
Right-wing French politician Marion Marechal wrote on X: ‘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.’
Her Italian counterpart, Matteo Salvini, added: ‘Opening the Olympics by insulting billions of Christians in the world was really a very bad start, dear French. Sleazy.’
France, while proud of its rich Catholic heritage, also has a long tradition of secularism and anti-clericalism. Blasphemy is not only legal, but also considered by many as an essential pillar of freedom of speech in a democratic society.
‘In France, people are free to love how they please, are free to love whoever they want, are free to believe or not believe,’ Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s artistic director, told reporters on Saturday when asked about critics.
Some commentators said the controversy was just another example of 21st century culture wars turbocharged by a 24-hour news cycle and social media.
‘Everyone has to take offence it seems,’ David Aaronovitch, a BBC Radio 4 presenter said on X. ‘Leonardo is one of the most famous images in the Western world and has been pastiched, parodied and altered tens of thousands of times.’
As well as the controversy with the Last Supper depiction, Friday’s Opening Ceremony saw almost 8,000 athletes soaked as the heavens opened and forced some spectators to leave early due to the deluge.
With critics branding the four-hour show as the ‘worst ever’, viewers reported poor audio caused by the near-torrential rain and even joked online that organisers needed to ‘stop the boats’.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators watched 6,800 athletes covered in plastic ponchos attempted to keep spirits high as they travelled down the river Seine in a huge flotilla of 85 boats.
Performances from Lady Gaga and approximately 3,000 dancers, acrobats and actors were hard to hear over the sound of rain, with viewers slamming it as ‘the worst Olympic opening ceremony in memory’.
Gaffes with country names, the mounting of the Olympic flag and bizarre scenes which saw a headless Marie Antoinette singing peppered the display last night as sport began in earnest this morning.
Although also hampered by hard-to-hear music, many young people and fans of the popular TV show took to social media to praise the tableau, which aimed to echo the atmosphere of a nightclub and featured dancing and lip-syncing on the soaking-wet stage.
Another moment from the four-hour bonanza which was not on viewers’ bingo cards was when several dozen headless Marie Antoinettes appeared in a riff on the nation’s history.
Images of the performer, who sang with her seemingly severed head in her lap, were recreated in all the windows of the historic building while a rock band performed outside.
And it wasn’t just the performances during the ceremony which saw technical gaffes. As the long line of boats filled with athletes made its way down the Seine, an embarrassing moment saw South Korea labelled North Korea by the announcers.
As the South Korean delegation sailed down the Seine River in the French capital, they were introduced with the official name for North Korea: ‘Republique populaire democratique de Coree’ in French, then ‘Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’ in English.
‘We deeply apologise for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony,’ the IOC said in a post on its official Korean-language X account.
The error sparked displeased reactions in South Korea, a global cultural and technological powerhouse that is technically still at war with the nuclear-armed and impoverished North.
South Korea’s sports ministry said in a statement it ‘expresses regret’ over the ‘announcement during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the South Korean delegation was introduced as the North Korean team’.
Second vice sports minister Jang Mi-ran, a 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, has asked for a meeting with IOC chief Thomas Bach to discuss the matter, it added.
The sports ministry has also asked the foreign ministry to ‘deliver a strong protest to the French side’ over the issue, the statement said.
South Korea’s National Olympic Committee plans to meet with the Paris Olympics Organising Committee and the IOC to voice their protest, request measures to prevent a recurrence, and send an official letter of protest under the name of the head of its delegation, the sports ministry said.
North Korea was correctly introduced with the country’s official name.
Another embarrassing gaffe saw the Olympic flag raised upside down.
The only saving grace came at the end of the ceremony with a stunning performance by Canadian Celine Dion.
It was her first live public performance since revealing she is living with stiff person syndrome (SPS), with a spectacular rendition from the Eiffel Tower at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
The superstar closed the ceremony from the first stage of the French landmark, singing Edith Piaf’s L’Hymne A L’Amour.
The Canadian singer cancelled her Las Vegas residency due to health concerns in 2021, before revealing her SPS diagnosis in December 2022 and cancelling her Courage World Tour.
She has not performed in public since.
She appeared in the final moments of the Olympics pageantry dressed in a beaded silver gown with a high neckline and appeared emotional as she came to the climax of the song.
Social media users were critical of the ceremony, with one writing: ‘France is doing good but it’s getting nowhere near the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony.’
Another used a picture of Rishi Sunak on a podium that reads: ‘Stop the boats’ to describe how they felt about the water-bound parade.
For the first time in history, the opening ceremony is being held outside of a closed stadium, instead Paris are hosting a never before seen water parade for the Olympics.
The open-air spectacle is taking place along a 6km stretch of the Seine River and includes a total of 160 boats, carrying 94 athletes each along the iconic river.
But fans on social media were unimpressed by France’s attempt to switch up the ceremony, with one writing: ‘I’m sorry but this is the worst Olympic opening ceremony in memory.
‘It’s an interesting idea bringing the athletes in on boats but it looks rubbish and misses the roar of the crowd. Sorry but not for me.’
Another said: ‘This opening ceremony would really benefit from Graham Norton’s commentary questioning what the hell is going on. Anyone else finding this just bizarre and hard to follow?’.
Gaming fans drew comparisons between the masked torch barer seen running around the city on rooftops and Arno, a character from the video game Assassin’s Creed.
The official Assassin’s Creed X account even posted a video of Arno jumping around in the game with the caption: ‘Keep an eye on Paris’ rooftops – Arno might just be watching from above.’
One X user wrote: ‘Can this get any worse! Avatar meets smurf remake’.