PARIS -- A storm of outrage about the Paris Olympics鈥� opening ceremony 鈥� including angry comments from Donald Trump 鈥� took a legal turn Tuesday, with French prosecutors ordering police to investigate complaints from a DJ and LGBTQ+ icon who performed.
DJ Barbara Butch said she suffered a torrent of online threats and abuse in the wake of a contentious scene at the Games' opening ceremony. A lawyer for Butch told The Associated Press that she had filed a formal legal complaint alleging online harassment, death threats and insults. The lawyer, Audrey Msellati, said the complaint doesn鈥檛 name any specific perpetrator or perpetrators of the alleged crimes.
The Paris prosecutor鈥檚 office confirmed that it received Butch鈥檚 complaint and said it tasked a police unit that specializes in fighting hate crimes to investigate. The police probe will focus on 鈥渄iscriminatory messages based on religion or sexual orientation that were sent to her or posted online,鈥� it said.
Although the ceremony's artistic director Thomas Jolly has repeatedly said that he wasn't inspired by 鈥淭he Last Supper,鈥� critics interpreted part of the show that featured Butch as a mockery of Leonardo Da Vinci's painting showing Jesus Christ and his apostles. Butch, who calls herself a 鈥渓ove activist,鈥� wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo as she got a party going during her segment of the show. Drag artists, dancers and others flanked Butch on both sides.
Trump, in the United States, said Monday he thought it was 鈥渁 disgrace.鈥�
鈥淚'm very open-minded,鈥� the former president and current Republican nominee told Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who specifically asked about comparisons to 鈥淭he Last Supper,鈥� 鈥渂ut I thought what they did was a disgrace.鈥�
French Catholic bishops and others were among those who said Christians had been hurt and offended. Paris Olympics organizers have said there was 鈥渘ever an intention to show disrespect to any religious group鈥� and that the intent was to 鈥渃elebrate community tolerance.鈥�
Jolly has said he saw the moment as a celebration of diversity, and the table on which Butch spun her tunes as a tribute to feasting and French gastronomy.
鈥淢y wish isn鈥檛 to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,鈥� Jolly said. 鈥淢ost of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.鈥�
Performer Philippe Katerine, who appeared in the next scene painted blue and nearly nude in a tribute to Dionysus, also told Le Monde newspaper that 鈥淭he Last Supper鈥� had not been referenced at all in preparations for the overall sketch.
In a statement of her own, posted on Instagram, Butch said: 鈥淲hatever some may say, I exist. I鈥檝e never been ashamed of who I am, and I take responsibility for everything -- including my artistic choices. All my life, I鈥檝e refused to be a victim: I won鈥檛 shut up.鈥�
She said she 鈥渨as extremely honoured鈥� to perform in Friday鈥檚 ceremony and 鈥渕y heart is still full of joy.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 committed, and I鈥檓 proud. Proud of who I am, of what I am, and of what I embody, both for my loved ones and for millions of French people. My France is France !鈥� she wrote.
In an AP interview Tuesday, Msellati described Butch as in 鈥渁 fighting spirit鈥� 鈥� eager to defend herself and her choices, and still very proud of her participation. 鈥淪he has no regrets, even now,鈥� the lawyer said.
She said hateful messages targeting Butch are 鈥渁rriving almost every minute,鈥� and that Jolly and the ceremony's drag artists have also been targeted by cyberbullying.
鈥淲e are going to stand together against this cyber-harassment which is at the same time anti-Semitic, homophobic, fat-phobic, all that," she said.
The lawyer also said in an earlier statement that legal complaints would be filed regardless of 鈥渨hether committed by French nationals or foreigners" and that Butch "intends to prosecute anyone who tries to intimidate her in the future.鈥�
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AP journalists Nicolas Vaux-Montagny and Kwiyeon Ha contributed reporting.
