Olympic organizing committees’ decision to allow a drag queen to perform a parody of “The Last Supper” at the opening ceremony in Paris on Friday has cost the Olympics a U.S. sponsor.
Mississippi-based phone service company C-Spire posted a statement on Facebook on Saturday announcing its intention to withdraw advertising from the XXXIII Olympiad.
post read“Shocked by the mockery of The Last Supper at the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics. C Spire withdraws advertising from Olympics.”
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R-MS) praised the carrier’s decision.
“I am proud of Mississippi’s private sector for standing up and taking a firm stance,” Reeves wrote. “God is not mocked. C-Spire drew the common sense and appropriate line.”
I am proud of Mississippi’s private sector for standing up and taking a firm stance. God is not mocked. C. Spire drew the common sense and appropriate line. https://t.co/R38yJye97I
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) July 27, 2024
Outrage over the blasphemous performance also spread to religious communities, with French bishops denouncing the performance as “a mockery and mockery of Christianity” and expressing solidarity with “Christians on all continents who are hurt by this outrage and provocation.”
French politician Marion Maréchal took to social media to tell the world that the blasphemous act did not represent France and was the product of a “left-wing minority.”
“To all Christians around the world who watched the Paris 2024 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,” she posted on X.
Regarding the minorities allegedly responsible for the performance, opening ceremony artistic director Thomas Jolly said the performance was not intended to cause offense.
“Our idea was inclusivity,” Jolie told reporters. “Obviously, if you want to include everyone and not exclude anyone, questions arise.
“Our theme was not to be disruptive. We didn’t want to be disruptive. We wanted to talk about diversity, and diversity is about togetherness,” he added. “We wanted to involve everyone. That’s it. In France we have creative freedom, artistic freedom. We are lucky to live in a free country like France.”
