Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) issued a statement on Saturday, lashing out at the Olympics for being offensive to Christians, and he's not the only one watching the festivities and coming away with the feeling that the production thus far has a Satanic vibe — in line with the conservative response to another major sporting event, the 2023 Super Bowl, when people like Donald Trump Jr. called Rihanna's halftime show a work of the devil.
“Last night’s mockery of the Last Supper was shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world who watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games,” Johnson wrote in a post on X, in response to the very goth, very metal production crafted by opening ceremony director, Thomas Jolly.
As The Hill points out, the opening ceremony in Paris on Friday included a group of performers, some of them in drag, in a scene some believe to resemble the da Vinci painting, “The Last Supper.” This, combined with headless Marie Antoinette singing along with metal band Gojira, led to a great deal of pearl clutching.
In further response to the opening ceremony, "conscientious objector" Natalie F Danelishen flooded her social media feed with literal objections while sharing multiple photos of the very thing she was objecting to, such as performers in drag.
"Reject degeneracy!" Danelishen writes in a post that was co-signed by Elon Musk, who added, "This was extremely disrespectful to Christians."
As Royal FM 94.3 points out in a tweet of their own, "The Olympics and NBC are using copyright claims to remove videos of the controversial opening ceremony, sparking outrage over the suppression of criticism."
🚨 The Olympics and NBC are using copyright claims to remove videos of the controversial opening ceremony, sparking outrage over the suppression of criticism.
— Royal FM 94.3 Kigali (@RoyalFMRwanda) July 27, 2024
Many argue this misuse of copyright laws under the DMCA infringes on fair use, which permits commentary and critique.… pic.twitter.com/Ml1TFAQ5Kl
Although offended by the content, Danelishen and Musk took issue with its removal, calling it "Orwellian" and an "overzealous application of DMCA."
