Paris Prosecutors Investigating Death Threats Sent to Artistic Director of Olympics Opening Ceremony

Prosecutors in Paris are investigating death threats and harassment directed at Thomas Jolly, the artistic director behind the opening ceremony at the 2024 Olympics, according to The Associated Press.

The investigation was launched, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, after Jolly filed a police complaint on Tuesday, July 30 (the opening ceremony took place a few days prior, on July 26). Jolly said he’d been subjected to death threats, “public insults,” and “defamation” and has been “the target of threatening messages and insults on social networks criticizing his sexual orientation and his wrongly-assumed Israeli roots.”

Jolly’s opening ceremony was one of the wildest and most memorable in recent Olympic history. It featured Céline Dion’s grand return to the stage, Lady Gaga honoring French cabaret icon Zizi Jeanmaire, and French metal greats Gojira performing the revolutionary anthem, “Ah! Ça Ira” alongside a beheaded and bloodied Marie Antoinette. 

It was Jolly’s intention to deliver a maximalist display that leaned into French clichés and stereotypes. In a previous interview with The AP, he said, “When we watch Emily in Paris or Amélie Poulain, we know it’s not quite the real Paris. We’re going to play with all those cliches, but we’re also going to challenge them. Paris is also a vibrant youth. Different cultures rubbing shoulders in the streets.”

But, unsurprisingly, not everyone appreciated the spectacle, especially those on the right. For instance, controversial men’s rights figure Andrew Tate tried to claim the beheaded Marie Antoinette scene was Satanic, a suggestion Gojira’s Joe Duplantier dismissed outright to Rolling Stone: “It’s none of that. It’s French history. It’s French charm, you know, beheaded people, red wine, and blood all over the place — it’s romantic, it’s normal.” 

There was additional uproar over a scene featuring drag queens and dancers at a long table that some argued was a reference to Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and, thus, insulting to Christians. Donald Trump even chimed in on this one, calling the scene a “disgrace” and saying if he was elected president again, there’d be no such mockery of “The Last Supper” at the 2028 games in Los Angeles. 

Jolly, however, denied being inspired by the painting. Instead, he said the scene was meant to pay homage to Greek mythology and the origins of the Olympics in ancient Greece. 

Jolly has received plenty of support from Olympic officials and local politicians. Following the opening ceremony, a Paris 2024 spokesperson said, “Clearly, there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think that Thomas Jolly really tried to celebrate community tolerance. We believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry.”

Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, also backed Jolly following the news of the investigation into the online harassment against him. “Jolly held our values high,” she said. “It was a pride and an honor for Paris to be able to count on his talent to magnify our city and tell the world who we are.”

Jolly is actually the second person to file a police complaint over alleged online harassment related to the opening ceremony after Barbara Butch — a popular DJ and LGBTQ activist who performed during the misinterpreted “Last Supper” scene — brought one earlier this week.