Paris has seen some epic moments in history, but the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony probably tops them all. Picture this: 85 boats carrying 6,800 athletes cruising down the Seine towards the sparkling Eiffel Tower and the Olympic flame soaring into the sky on a hot air balloon. Unforgettable, right?

As the River Seine parade and performances wowed the crowd, French President Emmanuel Macron said, “I declare the Paris Olympic Games open.” For the first time ever, the ceremony ditched the traditional stadium for an open-air extravaganza. But putting a damper on the event was a severe backlash it got on social media, thanks to a parody display of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous fresco ‘The Last Supper.’

Depicting the biblical scene that originally featured Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles were drag queens and dancers. French actor and singer Philippe Katerine appeared as the Greek god Dionysus, who was painted blue and wore little more than a bunch of flowers. Aside from The Last Supper, the ceremony also included a depiction of the ‘headless’ Marie Antoinette and a depiction of three people canoodling in France’s Bibliotheque National.

The display brought about condemnation across the globe, including the Conference of French bishops. Their statement said, “This ceremony has unfortunately included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we very deeply deplore.” The four-hour-long opening ceremony and its controversial moments prompted NASCAR Truck Series driver Dean Thompson to write on X:

“Mockery. Absolutely awful. Praying for them.” Danica Patrick, who often discusses religious beliefs and Christianity on the Pretty Intense podcast, expressed her shock with three emojis: “😳😳🤯”

In response to the widespread criticisms, Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s artistic director, came out in defense on Saturday and told reporters, “In France, people are free to love how they please, are free to love whoever they want, are free to believe or not believe.”

As tradition demands, the Olympic flame started in Greece and was passed through French territories before entering Paris prior to the opening ceremony. Among the 10,000 torchbearers were three drag queens who played their part in the Olympic cauldron lit before the tournament began in Paris. The decision to do so was to promote diversity and inclusion at the most important sporting event on the planet. While some fans loved this unabashed display of French camp and kitsch, others weren’t happy.

Jenna Ellis, former 2020 campaign attorney to Donald Trump, wrote on X: “In this scene from the Olympic opening ceremony, the famous painting of The Last Supper is recreated, but Jesus is replaced with an obese woman, while queer and trans figures (including a child!) depict her apostles,” describing the ceremony as containing “overt pagan and satanic symbolism.”

Additionally, NASCAR fans joined Danica Patrick and Dean Thompson and voiced their outrage, accusing Paris Olympics organizers of mocking religious traditions on a public forum viewed by billions worldwide. But that wasn’t what the organizers meant to do at all. The show’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, said, “My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock. Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”

The entire show was meant to celebrate diversity and inclusion, something NASCAR (and almost every sport) has been working towards for quite some time now. As things stand, Bubba Wallace is the only black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, and his principled stand against the Confederate flag was the reason it was finally banned from what is predominantly an all-white sport. That said, when it came to the wacky opening ceremony, fans weren’t happy with what Jolly tried to portray.

NASCAR fans express their inclination to boycott the Paris Olympics

It didn’t take long for NASCAR fans to voice their opinions after seeing the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony. With the many controversial moments featured in the four-hour-long ceremony, one fan wrote, “Yeah, simply for the opening ceremonies cr*p, I will not watch a single moment from the rest of this summer’s games. Everybody in the establishment, celebs, media, and whatnot, normalizing tearing down Christianity; saddening.”

As Tony Estanguet, triple Olympic champion and President of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, said, “Live it. Love it, and carry us with you! The world is on your side.” It looks like some fans won’t align with the thought, as the controversy surrounding the opening ceremony prompted one fan to write, “It’s amazing that on a global level, the #Olympic2024 would alienate billions of people intending to watch! Huge fail!”

Another controversy surrounding transgender athletes participating against biological women has sparked plenty of debates in the past. While some claim it gives transgender athletes a competitive advantage, others believe it’s an important step towards inclusion. On that note, a fan shared disappointment over the issues the Olympics has raised: “It’s been bad enough with all the controversial issues around genders with athletes. Now this, honestly, where’s it going to end?”

Furthermore, the opening ceremony prompted calls for boycotting the tournament, with a fan writing, “I wouldn’t waste one second watching the Olympics. So you could say I’m boycotting. Never got into them.” Echoing that sentiment, another X user expressed his sadness at how ‘woke’ the Olympics had become, as he wrote, “Most disgraceful opening performance in the history of the Olympics. Very sad to see the Olympics has fallen to this disease.”

The Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world. However, the backlash that certain aspects of the opening ceremony have received and the calls for a boycott have taken away from one of the biggest causes for celebration: the best of the best athletes competing against each other on the grandest of stages. As the 2024 Paris Olympics’ extravagant opening ceremony has caused fury worldwide, what are your thoughts on this?