Pat McAfee has joined the chorus of criticism after the Paris Olympics began with a controversial opening ceremony.
The ESPN presenter urged organizers of the Los Angeles Games in 2028 to avoid the type of scandal that has marred the start of this summer’s Olympics.
Donald Trump is among those to have condemned last week’s ‘disgraceful’ opening ceremony, which saw fierce backlash against the controversial religious depictions during the glitzy event.
Organizers have apologized to those offended by a tableau that evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’, which depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him.
The scene during Friday’s ceremony featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch — an LGBTQ+ icon — flanked by drag artists and dancers. One backup dancer appeared to have his genitals exposed during the ceremony.
Pat McAfee has joined the chorus of criticism of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony
This scene featuring drag queens appearing to depict The Last Supper caused controversy during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Friday night
Religious conservatives from around the world slammed the segment and now McAfee has joined in the criticism of Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony.
‘There’s a lot of people saying: what Thomas Jolly put together was incredibly disrespectful… for good reason,’ McAfee said.
‘I have no idea how any of these things are (about) the start of the Olympics or to announce that the Olympics are taking place.’
He added: ‘We just want it to revolve around sports and we can’t have the opening ceremony be a reason why people won’t watch these athletes who have sacrificed their lives to be great at something and only get to experience and celebrate once every four years.’
A singing performer painted blue depicted the Greek god Dionysus during Friday’s ceremony
Thomas Jolly was the artistic director of the opening ceremony for this summer’s Olympics
McAfee bemoaned the ‘self-created’ drama around the start of the Games, urging organizers of the home Olympics in 2028 to let sports take center stage.
‘I hope next time around we go and think about that… we can’t have things that aren’t part of it, be the reason why people won’t watch it. Because when you watch it, it’s magic!’ he said.
‘There are a lot of people saying they’re not going to watch the Olympics because of the opening ceremony. Now, I learned a lot about a man named Thomas Jolly… the one thing I did not read or see is that he cares at all about sports,’ McAfee added.
‘That’s the biggest thing – we need people that love sports being a part of sports (events).’
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