Co-host on ABC’s “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg, recently commented on the controversy surrounding the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, which many have alleged was an overt mockery of Christianity. The liberal panelist instructed those upset by what appeared to be a reinterpretation of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” to “just turn the TV off.”
The performance in question featured a woman surrounded by what appeared to be men dressed as drag queens in positions eerily similar to the composition seen in “The Last Supper.” The famous piece of art from Da Vinci illustrates the final meal Jesus Christ shared with his apostles before his crucifixion and resurrection, the most critical moment in Christianity.
“If you are not happy with something, and it bothers you, don’t take 20 hours to write an email. Just turn the TV off. Watch something else. Put the newspaper down. Don’t look at the pictures. These are choices, you know, we’re back to this thing. These are our choices. You have the ability. Forget what Instagram is telling you. If you don’t like it, go to something else,” Goldberg said during a recent broadcast of the talkshow.
The left-leaning co-host also said that the artistic director of the controversial performance claimed the depiction was not a reference to “The Last Supper.” She continued, “The guy that put it all together said it was from ‘The Feast of the Gods,’ which is a 17th Century Dutch painting of the Greek Olympian gods, you know, the Olympian gods because it’s the Olympics.”
The panelist continued, claiming that the opening ceremony was only trying to “talk about history” while further disputing that the scene was intended to be a representation of “The Last Supper.” “Come on, y’all. It’s the Olympics. Stop. They’re not trying to do anything except talk about the history. They’re showing you the history. There are too many people in the picture for it to be the 12 disciples and then the seven or eight other people in the picture,” she went on.
Fellow co-host Sarah Haines weighed in on the backlash from Christians, arguing that the artistic director did not intend to spark such controversy. She urged Christians not to live by the “literal letter of the Bible” and to be more graceful in other ways of life that contradict the teaching of Jesus Christ.
“Don’t go by the literal letter of the Bible. Go by the example of the word, which is live with the grace. Live with the forgiveness. Live with – I was frustrated. You answer, and I’m okay with that. I get so tired of being beaten over the head with religious messages while someone walks along their life not living like Jesus at all, like, really understand the mission,” she said.
Watch the panel below:
Ana Navarro called for viewers to focus on the sports instead of the ceremony. “This was a very small part of it, and it’s what’s consumed so much of America, I guess, and I would say, you know, it happens every four years. There are young people who train their entire lives to be there, to represent our countries. Can we please give them the focus?” said Navarro.
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
