“Shame and dark stain” – UFC champion Islam Makhachev slams ‘Last Supper’ parody at Paris Olympics

The opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics came under heavy fire this Friday. It featured several performances highlighting the history and culture of France. A runway segment saw a group of around 18 performers strike poses behind a long table, with the Seine River and Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. UFC lightweight Islam Makhachev is the newest in line to take notice.

The opening ceremony started at 1:30 p.m. EDT (will reair on NBC.com; NBC app). The matter itself was pure extravaganza. However, pictures of a drag rendition of ‘The Last Supper’ started doing the rounds on social media. It was a mural painting by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci of Jesus and his apostles, it drew flak from all quarters. Dagestan phenom Islam Makhachev also pitched in.

Paris Games is a shame and dark stain on Olympic movement. We should bring it back to Russia again, to fix everything.
Islam Makhachev via X (@MAKHACHEVMMA)

Many prime catholic entities, celebrities, and even athletes even voiced concerns over the over-sexualized drag queen-led parody ‘The Last Supper.’ Now, it’s a whole other matter if this is his voice or if Dominance MMA Management’s Ali Abdelaziz did a Twitter takeover. But if it really is Makhachev, his reasons seem solid. The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian Federation, with its 88 teams and 98 events, was pure grand bravado. Opening segments were reminiscent of where the Olympian culture came from.

Hence, it’s natural for the Russian lightweight to want that glory on his national stage. With the backlash it faced, the official YouTube channel removed the whole video. The matter has gone viral enough for athletes from all bases aspiring to bring the Games to their corner of the world. Additionally, Makhachev wasn’t the only one to voice concerns.

Other combat sports stars call for Olympics boycott over ‘The Last Supper’ showcasing

The representation of what looked like a drag parody of ‘The Last Supper’ drew quite the negative attention, even from the French themselves. Some even billed it as a “woke” anti-Christian agenda by the Paris Games. French politician Marion Maréchal slammed it as leftist minority propaganda and not a true representation of her culture. Big-shot entities, like Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, pitched in too.

2024 Paris Olympics under fire for zesty version of ‘The Last Supper’ (Source: si.com/washingtonpost.com/X)

Paris Olympics Authorities and NBCOlympics.com did not confirm the intentions as a parody. A post on the Olympics’ official X handle said that “interpreting the Greek god Dionysus makes us realize the absurdity of human violence.” The symbolization was anything but. To make it more bizarre, a scantily dressed man, a woman in Halo supposedly as Jesus, a runway fashion segment, stormed the scene.