EXCLUSIVE: Drag queen gives 1st interview after Paris Olympics opening ceremony
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony is still inciting conversation days after it aired. Viewers are scrutinizing a minutes-long segment in the four-hour ceremony — and asking what it really meant.
Nicky Doll, one of the drag performers in the segment and the host of “Drag Race France,” says she thought the scene “made complete sense” when the opening ceremony's artistic director Thomas Jolly first approached her with the idea.
“They reached out to me and said that they wanted to incorporate part of the nightlife of French culture in the last number. It was all about music and celebration and a big banquet and a big party,” she tells TODAY.com in her first interview since the debacle.
In the controversial segment, entitled “Festivities," drag queens and dancers lined a long table, while a mostly nude Philippe Katerine, clad in blue paint, sang before them in French. A runway show followed, as did performances — Nicky sang her song "I Had a Dream," though that moment didn't make the telecast.
Many viewers — including actor Candace Cameron — quickly took to social media, sharing their assumption that the tableau was a riff off Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” portrait of Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles, and interpreting the scene as an affront to Christianity.
But the Olympics account told another story, posting on X as the ceremony unfolded, “The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”
Appearing on French news channel BFM-TV Sunday, Jolly confirmed “The Last Supper” was “not my inspiration.”
“There is Dionysus who arrives on this table. He is there because he is the God of celebration in Greek mythology. The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus. You will never find in me a desire to mock and denigrate anyone,” Jolly said.
The Olympics has publicly apologized for the "unintentional" offense. As the controversy has gotten bigger, participants in the performance have been the target of ire. Barbara Butch, the DJ at the center of the scene, has filed police reports about the attacks she has gotten online.
“Since the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games artist, DJ, and activist Barbara Butch has been the target of an extremely violent campaign of cyber-harassment and defamation,” Butch’s lawyer Audrey Msellati said in a statement.
Nicky, who performed next to Butch, tells TODAY.com she will also take legal action. She plans to sue actor-turned-activist Laurence Fox for defamation over a tweet he posted about the drag queens of the opening ceremony. TODAY.com has reached out to Fox for comment.
Earlier this year, Fox lost a libel lawsuit brought by Crystal, a "Drag Race UK" alum, and Simon Blake, a trustee of UK charity Stonewall, and was ordered to pay ￡180,000 in damages, split evenly between Crystal and Blake.
"I’m about to sue you again for defamation — the same exact topic that you were sued on and lost. This is my kind of activism. I’m going to make him pay for the things that everybody else is saying, because I want to show that it is time now to stop labeling queer people in an evil way," Nicky says.
Nicky — named Karl Sanchez out of drag — the French-born artist moved to New York in 2015, starred in "Drag Race" in 2020. She has since become an American citizen and is currently the host of "Drag Race France."
In her first interview since the opening ceremony, Nicky tells TODAY how proud she was to represent France on this global stage — but emphasizes the critics aren’t getting her down.
“I had a great time, and I still am having a great time. None of the negativity really affected me. I just saw an article on Fox News that said, 'Drag performer says that she loves ruffling feathers.’ And I’m like, yeah,” she says.
What did it mean to you to be part of the opening ceremony?
First and foremost, it was definitely an honor. France took very seriously the role of being the host of these Olympics, and we really wanted to showcase the depth of French culture.
It was not just about queer people or drag, it was also about waacking, about the ballroom scene, about vogueing, about hip hop. It was all about music and celebration and a big banquet and a big party.
Your Joan of Arc look was a real full circle moment. You wore it while eliminated on “Drag Race.” Was that intentional?
It made sense to come back as Joan of Arc, because I always said that I would have my revenge. What I love about Thomas Jolly is that he really allowed us to do our own thing. So my outfit was completely my decision. I definitely wanted to pay homage to where I come from, which was Season 12 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” to now being a host of “Drag Race France” and to be able to come back in France as a warrior for French people and for freedom. Now, with the scandal around it, I think that Joan of Arc was an even better decision for an outfit.
What have been some of the more positive responses that you’ve gotten?
About 80% of the feedback that I have received has been positive. I was very moved by realizing how much of a platform the Olympics were. I was able to not just make my own community in France or in the U.S. proud, (but) I was receiving messages from people in Korea, people in Japan, in Brazil, in Peru, in Muslim countries. I have fans that said that they saw it, and it actually started conversations in their families. So, I think that the representation was, indeed, well received.
Going into it, did you expect to "ruffle feathers?"
The whole “Last Supper” thing I did not see coming at all.
I never thought that there would be a religious feather that I would ruffle. I definitely felt that I would ruffle a conservative feather. But also, that feather has been around me since I was born just for being born, so that was never something that I would be scared of.
I did actually interact with some of the DMs that I received from people who were more moderate in their attacks. I started talking to this woman who is very conservative and Christian and has a 14-year-old kid, and I started to debunk a little bit of the things that she assumed. Within a five-minute conversation, that woman said to me, "How can I watch 'Drag Race France' because now I want to see what you do.'" If I could spend 10, 15 minutes with every single one of these people putting a vomit emoji or “you’re going to burn in hell” comment, I would, but I can’t.
This is not the first time the Olympics has seen drag performers. In the 2000 Sydney closing ceremony, 46 drag queens paraded around the stadium in honor of the Australian movie “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." There didn’t seem to be much controversy then. Do you think the acceptance is going in reverse over the last 25 years?
I think that at the time, queer people existed and were welcomed as long as they were the buffoons that are here to entertain people. But having queer people on the forefront of the festivities and represent the pride of what France is, and having an influential drag queen performing her song, then that becomes too much because we shouldn’t have to shove our life in their faces. Well, guess what, Mimi? We both have the right to vote.
Was Thomas Jolly explicit that the scene was more about Greek mythology than anything else?
Absolutely. Never at any point in the conversation was it mentioned that we would redefine a Biblical moment. It was always about being Greek gods and a big banquet at this table turning into a runway, and it’s a massive celebration and festivity. Nothing was related to religion at any point in time.
Even if it had been about the "Last Supper," which is probably the most referenced piece of art of all time -
Done by “South Park,” “The Simpsons,” David LaChapelle.
So why do you think it was such a problem this time for those watching that believed that was the intended reference?
Because it was queer people and people of color all together. It was about celebrating minorities. But what if it was “The Last Supper”? Are queer people not allowed to also be believers and want that kind of representation? I don’t see why we should even feel bad about that, even though it was not the reference.
Do you think that apology from the Paris Olympics spokesperson was warranted?
I genuinely do not think that we have to apologize. But I do understand that at the end of the day, the Olympics is supposed to bring peace and bring people together. And this was in the DNA of every action that we put into it. So I understand that if they can ease up the tension that already exists so much around the world, they should. The activist that I am doesn’t want to apologize, but I understand why the Olympics did.
Knowing how it was received with all the backlash, would you have changed anything?
To all the Christians that are allies to our community and never meant any harm to us, I apologize if you felt hurt or misinterpreted the art piece and our intentions. I hope that now that there’s more clarity you can enjoy the opening ceremony with no uncomfortable feelings.
What’s your message to the rest of the people who were offended who were sending you those more vicious messages?
To the ones that needed a blurry situation to unleash all their hatred and be openly transphobic, racist, fat-phobic and homophobic, we see you, we are used to you, and we are not scared of you.
Have you received any backlash personally that could be considered threatening or even violent?
I’ve been called a groomer, a pedophile. I’ve been asked to look by the window because they will come for me, Like I said to one of these a--holes on social media who said “Stay in France with your backward ideas," I said, “I’m actually a U.S. citizen as much as you are, and my voice in the next election counts as much as yours. See you at the voting booths!”
Do any of those messages scare you at all?
Darling, I wash myself with their tears. It has never affected me whatsoever. Because sadly queer people have had to be used to it. We’ve always been targeted. So, like I said, I like to take a shower in the morning with their tears. I am fine with their tears. I was able to perform for 45 minutes on a bridge in the rain and we saw my mug did not move whatsoever. I’m waterproof.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
