Entertainers like Celine Dion and Lady Gaga delivered dazzling performances as the first musical acts during the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony, but not everything was great for everyone, and the most talked-about part involved French entertainer Philippe Katerine.
There were mixed reviews for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony, and the most notable was singer Philippe Katerine’s turn as Dionysus in blue body paint.
Friday night’s Paris Olympics opening ceremony angered people worldwide. Many thought Philippe Katerine was making a mockery of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”
Katerine told Le Parisien newspaper that he spent two hours in makeup being coated with “gallons” of waterproof paint in a shade of sky blue for this performance.
“I’m a bit of an exhibitionist,” said the 55-year-old.
Katerine recounted details of his all-body waxing: “I suffered a lot, and I loved it.”
He further added he was “proud” of the performance. “It’s my culture,” he said. “We’re full of different people, and everyone lives their own way and, above all, has the right to do so. I loved doing it.”
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The boundary-pushing actor and singer, who has two kids with Julie Depardieu, daughter of the French actor Gérard Depardieu, said he sent a video pitching the idea, which he said was inspired by a wish to respect the original Olympic Games in Greece.
“Nudity is really the very origin of the Games,” he said. “At first, they were naturist Olympics.”
Philippe Katerine said he wrote a song called “Nu,” which means nude, and performed it for the first time on Friday. “I wanted to get my message across, which goes something like this: “If you’re naked, there’s no war because there are no weapons.”
Philippe Katerine’s Performance Featured Drag Queens For Opening Ceremony
The 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony was filled with memorable moments, but it also generated controversy.
During a controversial performance by Philippe Katerine, drag queens and dancers lined a long table in an image that some thought resembled Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” portrait of Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles.
Many called the performance a “mockery” and “insulting to Christian people.”
Also Read: Paris Olympics Announcer Removed From Broadcast After Making Grossly ‘Inappropriate’ Comment On Air
