Meet the French Theater Director Behind the Olympics’ Drag Queens, Same-Sex Foreplay, Queer Last Supper Opening Ceremony

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris kicked off Friday with an opening ceremony that left many stunned and repulsed — drag queens cavorting in the streets, raunchy same-sex foreplay, and a gender-queer re-enactment of The Last Supper.

There was even a bearded “woman” crawling around on all fours in a provocative blue bustier.

Who was responsible for the unfolding artistic atrocity? Meet Thomas Jolly, a theater and opera director who was little-known outside of France before Friday’s broadcast — which was viewed by more than a billion people worldwide — turned him into a global curiosity.

In interviews prior to Friday’s broadcast, the openly gay Thomas Jolly gave no indication that he would be turning the Opening Ceremony into a Pride parade. But he did emphasize the importance of inclusion and representation.

“How do you write a show in which everybody, at one point, feels represented and a part this bigger thing, this bigger ‘us’?” he said. “It’s ambitious but also complex because one has to broaden one’s own imagery, one’s own outlook and include everyone, understand everyone so that no one feels left behind.”

NEW: The artistic director responsible for the Paris opening ceremony says he mocked 2.4 billion Christians with drag queens so “everybody feels represented.”

During an interview, Thomas Jolly opened up about the “beautiful responsibility” he has as an “artist.”

“How do you… pic.twitter.com/qOb5CD2tQs

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 27, 2024