(Does that excuse make it any better?)

Olympics: Macron condemns abuse of opening ceremony artists

08/03/2024August 3, 2024

Although largely praised, one scene during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony sparked fury among the Catholic Church, far-right politicians in France and the religious right in the United States.

A person covered in blue, depicting Dionysus, sits as he is surrounded by people during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics

The Olympic opening ceremony choreographer said thescene depicted a pagan feast linked to the gods of Olympus not "The Last Supper" painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. (dudes you are too late, if it was true it would have been said that day. Macron is going to hell.)

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday he was "outraged" by the cyberbullying of the Olympic Games opening ceremony's choreographer.

Macron went on to praise what the called artist Thomas Jolly's "audacity," adding that the nation was proud of the Paris 2024 opening ceremony.

"The French were very proud of this ceremony," said Macron on the sidelines of a visit to Paris Olympics volunteers. "France showed its audacity with the artistic freedom that it comes with."

Jolly's "daring art in the opening ceremony made many people happy," he added.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also gave her "unwavering support" to Jolly, saying in a statement that he "held our values high."

"It was a pride and an honor for Paris to be able to count on his talent to magnify our city and tell the world who we are," she added. "Paris will always be on the side of artists, of creation and therefore, on the side of freedom."

Death threats, insults and defamation

The Paris Prosecutors' Office said Jolly filed a police complaint on Tuesday, four days after the opening ceremony, for death threats, "public insults" and "defamation."

Jolly said he has been "the target of threatening messages and insults on social networks criticizing his sexual orientation and his wrongly-assumed Israeli roots," prosecutors said in a statement, adding that France's Central Office for Combating Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes has been charged with the investigation.

French DJ and LGBTQ+ activist Barbara Butch, who also took part in the ceremony, also filed a complaint with prosecutors earlier this week over cyberbullying and death threats.

https://www.dw.com/en/olympics-macron-condemns-abuse-of-opening-ceremony-artists/a-69846544