"Don't remember people freaking out like this over The Battlestar Galactica Last Supper"— Netizens point selective outrage over Olympics controversy

Many on the internet were offended after the drag queens performed what looked like a parody of The Last Supper during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Friday, July 26, 2024. As several clips from the Olympics event made their way on social media, the enactment of Jesus Christ spending his last supper with his apostles before his crucifixion was criticized by many.

Additionally, a clip where a performer can be seen in blue body paint with fruits around them has gone viral, and social media users have mostly reacted negatively to it. However, there were many other netizens also who questioned the criticism around the act and stated how The Battlestar Galactica was not criticized for The Last Supper's enactment in their promotional poster.

Commenting about the same, one social media user wrote:

“I think the rage over the Drag Queen Last Supper is an overreaction. I don't remember people Freaking Out like this over the Battlestar Galactica Last Supper."

On the other hand, others also touched on the issue of The Last Supper being recreated by The Simpsons, and The Battlestar Galactica and the world not having a problem with the same.

“TIMES WHEN CHRISTIANS CARED WHO RECREATED THE LAST SUPPER: Once… because, drag queens. TIMES WHEN THEY COULDN’T HAVE CARED LESS,” a netizen wrote.

“There have been so many recreations of 'The Last Supper', but somehow drag queens hit a nerve. Where's the outrage over the Simpsons? Or Battlestar Galactica?” commented another social media user.

“Let's do this again without the invective: 1) The Sanctity of The Last Supper. You must be aware its based on art, created hundreds of years later, invented by the artist and has NO basis on reality. So what? Remember when LOST did it? Or battlestar galactica? Did that upset you?” stated another.

It is also worth noting that many social media users also commented on multiple platforms stating how the performers at the opening ceremony of the Olympics did not depict “The Last Supper.” They stated that it was a presentation of the Greek Bacchanal, which is a Roman festival of Bacchus, which arrived in Rome in the 200BC.

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The 2024 Paris Olympics organizers issued an apology to the Christian groups amidst the backlash

As social media users continued to slam the Paris Olympics organizers for the portrayal of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting with drag queens, the outrage prompted a statement from the organizing committee that apologized for showing “disrespect to any religious group.”

The Paris 2024 Olympics spokesperson Anne Descamps spoke about the issue at a press conference and stated:

“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. The opening ceremony tried to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry.”

Furthermore, even after the Olympic organizing committee apologized for hurting the sentiments of the Christians, debate ensued on multiple platforms, as a few considered the Olympic performance to be fine, while others were left offended by the same.