Actress Candace Cameron Bure and fitness personality Jillian Michaels have joined the growing number of critics slamming the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics, with Bure calling it “disgusting.
Bure, a Great American Family actress who is married to a two-time Olympic medalist, described her love for the Olympic games and the fond memories she has of watching them growing up, specifically the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles. This year’s opening ceremony for the games, held in Paris, France, generated controversy for featuring drag queens in the place of Jesus Christ and the disciples in reenacting Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”
“So, to watch such an incredible and wonderful event that’s going to take place over the next two weeks, and see the opening ceremonies completely blaspheme and mock the Christian faith with their interpretation of the Last Supper was disgusting, and it made me so sad,” Bure said in an Instagram video. “And someone said, ‘You shouldn’t be sad, you should be mad about it,’ and I’m like, ‘Trust me, it makes me mad,’ but I am more sad, because I’m sad for souls.”
Despite her heavy criticism for the ceremony, she did not call for a boycott of the games, stating that there are many Christian athletes who have dedicated their whole lives for this event who had no involvement with the opening ceremony. As such, she said she would still be watching the games, but that those who want to boycott the event can do as they wish.
Michaels, known for her role in the fitness reality show The Biggest Loser and on The Doctors, took to X on Saturday to criticize the opening ceremony for “mockery of something sacred for over 2 billion Christians.”
“We get outraged when the extreme right bashes us, but then we do this s***,” Michaels, who identifies as a lesbian, wrote on X. “What kind of reaction do you think they will have towards the LGBTQ+ community after this. This is NOT how we break down barriers it’s how you build them.”
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, a Catholic, also shared the footage of the ceremony online, posting Biblical Scriptures warning against mocking God.
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The organizers of the Paris Olympics have issued a statement claiming there was “never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group.” Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps stated that the ceremony “tried to celebrate community tolerance,” and that they believed they achieved this.
“If people have taken any offense we are, of course, really, really sorry,” Descamps said.
