Images courtesy of Paris 2024 X and Instagram
The 2024 Paris Olympics kicked off with an opening ceremony held outside a stadium for the first time. France’s cultural heritage was showcased with a national parade and spectacular performances by celebrities. However, the spectacular event was followed by a backlash on social media.
The opening ceremony was attended by many Olympic legends and sports stars, including Michael Phelps, Zinedine Zidane and Serena Williams. Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and Gojira put on some amazing cultural performances, including a half-naked blue man lying on a fruit plate that enraged the crowd.
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Why is “Olympic Boycott” trending on Twitter/X?
The appearance of the naked blue man was associated with the Last Supper and drew ire from the Christian community, many of whom saw it as a mockery of their religion. Fans rallied on Twitter and threatened to boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“What a disgraceful opening to the 2024 Olympics. #BoycottOlympics,” commented one user. Others said they didn’t care about the Olympics but would definitely boycott now. Many called the opening ceremony a disgrace and an insult to all Christians.
The issue quickly went viral, with “Boycott the Olympics” starting to trend on X/Twitter. “Are you serious?!? This is blasphemous and a mockery of God! #BoycottOlympics,” one comment read.
“Respect Jesus Christ and reject any mockery of His Last Supper. Retweet if you support #BoycottOlympics,” one user wrote, urging others to join the movement. The incident was described as vile, disgusting and extremely vile. “Will this be the first Olympics that never happened?” asked X user, hoping that countries would boycott the 2024 Olympics.
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Olympic officials explain
After the hashtag “BoycottOlympics” began trending, the official Olympic account “X” addressed the issue, saying the half-naked blue man was Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility.
The man covered in blue paint is French singer and songwriter Philippe Catherine. The “Mon cœur balance” singer sang “Nu” during his performance. “It wouldn’t be interesting if there were no controversy. If everyone on this planet agreed, it would be boring,” Catherine said in response to his critics.
The Catholic Church in France, along with the French Bishops’ Conference, issued a statement: “Unfortunately, this ceremony contained scenes of mockery and ridicule for Christianity, which we deeply regret,” the statement said.
Audiences were also not pleased with Godzilla’s performance. They also condemned the headless doll representing the murdered Queen Marie Antoinette. Social media heavyweight Andrew Tate described the opening ceremony as satanic and accused Western countries of devil worship.
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