French performer Phillippe Katerine has hit back at critics of his role in the Olympics opening ceremony and says he ‘loved’ his part in the showpiece event.
A spectacular but soggy opening ceremony in the French capital marked the start of the 2024 Paris Games.
Music royalty Celine Dion and Lady Gaga and sports superstars Zinedine Zidane and Serene Williams were among those to feature in the event, which took place along the River Seine.
But one somewhat bizarre part of the ceremony stole much of the focus, with a depiction of The Last Supper causing controversy and fans taken aback by the ‘naked blue man’ that appeared on screens.
The man in question is French actor and singer Katerine, who spent two hours in make-up behind the scenes being coated with ‘gallons’ of waterproof paint and sprinkled with yellow glitter for his role as the Greek god of wine Dionysus.
Katerine, 55, underwent an all-body wax before the event and had his modesty covered only by a garland of leaves and fruit.
Responding to the controversy over his look and The Last Supper segment of the ceremony, Katerine – who describes himself as ‘a bit of an exhibitionist’ – told Le Parisien: ‘I suffered a lot but I loved it.
‘I’m proud. It’s my culture. 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.
‘It wouldn’t be fun if there were no controversy. Wouldn’t it be boring if everyone agreed on this planet?
‘Nudity is really the very origin of the Games. At first, they were naturist Olympics.’
Amid criticism of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, official footage of the event has been mysteriously deleted from the Olympics YouTube channel.
American Catholic Bishop Robert Barron said in a video posted online: ‘I love the Olympics, so I turn on the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
‘And what do I see now? It’s in Paris, France, a city I love, I spent three years as a doctoral student there.
‘I see this gross mockery of the last supper and I won’t describe it any further.’
Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet has defended the ceremony, saying: ‘We imagined a ceremony to show our values and our principles so we gave a very committed message.
‘The idea was to really trigger a reflection. We wanted to have a message as strong as possible.
‘Naturally we had to take into account the international community. Having said that – it is a French ceremony for the French games – so we trusted our artistic director.
‘We have freedom of expression in France and we wanted to protect it.’
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