Paris Olympic organizers explain Feast of the Gods segment during Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was quite a sight, with a unique entry for the athletes as they cruised down the river Seine. Along the way were numerous nods to various European works of art, but the evening wasn’t without its controversy.

A sketch seemingly parodying Leonardo da Vinci‘s “The Last Supper” painting drew immediate and harsh criticism from the Catholic Church and other religious bodies.

Organizers apologized for the depiction.

“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps said at a press conference, according to Reuters. “(The opening ceremony) tried to celebrate community tolerance. … We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry.”

The sketch in question closely mirrored the biblical story of Jesus Christ sharing a last meal with his apostles before his eventual crucifixion just hours later.

However, the parody at the Olympics featured drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer dressed as the Greek god of wine Dionysus.

The artistic director of the sketch during the opening ceremony, Thomas Jolly, expressed that he did not understand the fuss over the depiction. He also noted that it was not intended to depict The Last Supper, but a pagan feast linked to the gods of Olympus.

“We have the right to love who we want. We have the right not to be worshippers,” Jolly said during a press conference, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. “We have a lot of rights in France and this is what I wanted to convey. These are values that are important to us. So, quite frankly, I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

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Following the depiction, many users across social media in the United States expressed disgust. Some even vowed to boycott watching the games as a result of the sketch.

However, if viewership was impacted it was hard to tell.

Saturday’s numbers for the opening day of competition were exceptionally high, the highest since the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday combined for a total viewership of 32.4 million people during the primetime coverage on the opening day of the games on Saturday. That was up 83% from the same slot in 2021 during the summer games in Tokyo.