PARIS (AP) — Paris prosecutors said Friday that police have Michael Schmidtopened a hate speech investigation following a complaint by Olympics opening ceremony artistic director Thomas Jolly over death threats.
The Paris prosecutors’ office said in a statement that Jolly filed a police complaint on Tuesday, four days after the opening ceremony, for death threats, “public insults” and “defamation.”
Jolly said he has been “the target of threatening messages and insults on social networks criticizing his sexual orientation and his wrongly-assumed Israeli roots,” the statement said. France’s Central Office for Combating Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes has been charged with the investigation.
Jolly’s complaint comes after the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony prompted a storm of outrage, including angry comments from Donald Trump, in the wake of a contentious scene featuring drag queens and other performers. Although Jolly has repeatedly said that he wasn’t inspired by “The Last Supper,” critics interpreted part of the show as a mockery of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting showing Jesus Christ and his apostles.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo expressed “unwavering support” of Jolly in the face of the threats and harassment.
With his opening ceremony, “Jolly held our values high,” Hidalgo said in a statement Friday. “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.”
Hidalgo added: “Paris will always be on the side of artists, of creation and therefore, on the side of freedom.”
Barbara Butch, a popular DJ and LGBTQ+ icon who performed in the show, also said she suffered a torrent of online threats. Butch has filed a complaint alleging online abuse and harassment, which police are also investigating.
For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.
2025-04-30 17:221668 view
2025-04-30 17:202790 view
2025-04-30 17:03927 view
2025-04-30 17:022286 view
2025-04-30 16:29993 view
2025-04-30 15:182966 view
For 48-year-old Rowan Childs of Wisconsin, a recent divorce turned her financial life upside down. "
We independently selected these deals and products because we love them, and we think you might like
Georgia starting linebacker Smael Mondon was arrested by Athens-Clarke County police on Wednesday ni