Meet the controversial self-described ‘love activist’ who played Jesus in Paris Olympics opening ceremony’s ‘woke Last Supper parody’ as she shares behind-the-scenes details

The woman at the centre of a controversial performance at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics has emerged as a DJ, producer and self-proclaimed “love activist” named Barbara Butch.

Some Christians expressed their displeasure at the stunt, a parody of the Last Supper, the famous biblical scene in which Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles share a final meal before the crucifixion.

The artistic interpretation, which included a group of drag queens and a transgender model, as well as French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine, led some to accuse organizers of creating a “woke” parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting.

Models, dancers, fashion icons and drag queens from the host country took part in the scene, gathering on a bridge over the capital’s river around a table that doubled as a catwalk.

At the center was Barbara, wearing a halo-shaped crown and a matching blue and silver ensemble, as she stood in front of her DJ equipment, surrounded by several drag queens and dozens of dancers and performers.

A fashion show featuring clothes designed by some of France’s most promising young designers took center stage, with people on either side performing slick choreographies.

And one of the most impressive pieces was the crown that Barbara wore, which was actually a custom-made headset with headphones built into it.

The artwork was created by multidisciplinary artist Flavio Juan Nunez and designer Laurent Tijou.

According to an Instagram post by Barbara, it’s made of natural silver chrome leather, wood, and Swarovski crystals.

In the post, she added that the tableau was created to “celebrate love, inclusivity and diversity through music and dance to unite us all.” [sic]’.

Although there were fans of the performance, opinions were divided and some organizations openly criticized the event.

Among them was the Catholic Church in France. The French Bishops’ Conference issued a statement saying: “This ceremony unfortunately included scenes of mockery and ridicule of Christianity, which we deeply regret.”

Criticism also came from further afield: American Catholic Bishop Robert Barron shared his thoughts in a video.

In a clip about the performance, he said: ‘I love the Olympics, so I turn on the opening ceremony of the Olympics. And what do I see? It’s in Paris, France, a city that I love, I spent three years there as a graduate student.

‘I see this as a gross mockery of the Last Supper and I will not dwell on it further.

‘France clearly felt that, while it wanted to show its best cultural side, it was right to ridicule this central moment in Christianity, when Jesus gave his body and blood at his Last Supper in preparation for the cross.’

He continued: ‘It is presented through this crude or superficial mockery. France, which used to be called the eldest daughter of the Church.

‘France has sent Catholic visionaries all over the world. France, whose culture, and I mean respect for the individual, for human rights and for freedom, is strongly rooted in Christianity.

‘It [France] felt it was right to mock the Christian faith.

‘Now I would like to ask a question, and we all know the answer to it, would they ever have dared to mock Islam in a similar way. Would they ever have dreamed of mocking a scene from the Koran in this crude and public way. And as I say, we all know the answer.

‘What’s interesting here is this deeply secular, [post-modern society knows who its enemy is, they’re naming them, and we should believe them, because this is who they are.

‘But furthermore we Christians, Catholics, should not be sheepish. We should resist, we should make our voices heard.’

An unexpected source of criticism was Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk, who claimed that the Last Supper depiction was ‘extremely disrespectful to Christians’, adding that: ‘Christianity has become toothless.’

However, the performers are not without fans as well as critics: Barbara Butch, who was at the centre of the performance, has more than 70,000 followers on Instagram.

Posting about the segment on the platform, she shared an image of herself in her costume, and wrote: ‘Hi my name is Barbara Butch, I m a Love activist , DJ and producer based in Paris. 

‘My aim is to unite people, gather humans & share love through music for all of Us to dance & make our hearts beat at unison! Music sounds better with all of Us!’ 

In addition to her work in music, Barbara (who is also known as Leslie Barbara Butch) is an activist for causes including lesbian rights and fat acceptance – as part of her fat acceptance work, she made the short film Extra Large.

And in 2020, she she posed naked on the cover of French cultural magazine Télérama. The cover line read: ‘But why do we reject fat people?’ 

Her work has been recognised by the French Association of LGBTI Journalists: in 2021, she was honoured with its Out d’or 2021 (LGBTI personality of the year) award.

The Parisian-born personality, who used to perform under the name ‘Scratcheuse de gazon’) before returning to her given name) reportedly began her DJ career in Montpellier, where she played in bars.

She continued her career by returning to Paris in 2008, where she worked at venues including the Machine du Moulin Rouge and Rosa Bonheur among others.

Barbara has also appeared on television, as a guest celebrity judge in 2023, on French reality series Drag Race France.