Full House actress Candace Cameron Bure has condemned the Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The sporting event has been at the center of controversy after the Opening Ceremony on Friday (July 26) featured drag performers positioned at a long table.
Many Christian groups slammed the performance as "blasphemous" and a "mockery" of Christianity, alleging that it was an apparent depiction of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting, which illustrated Jesus sitting with his Twelve Apostles.
The showcase then drew some more criticism when singer Phillippe Katerine appeared dressed as Dionysus - the ancient Greek god of wine, winemaking, grape cultivation, fertility, ritual madness, theater, and religious ecstasy.
Many prominent conservative figures have spoken out, including the former president of the United States Donald Trump who said: “I thought that the opening ceremony was a disgrace... I mean, they can do certain things. I thought it was terrible.”
The Republican nominee said that if he's president during the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, the country "won’t be having a Last Supper portrayed the way they portrayed it the other night".
“I just think... Look, I’m for everybody. I’m very open-minded — you understand, you know me better than most people know me — but I thought what they did was a disgrace," he added.
Now, Cameron Bure - who starred as D.J. Tanner on Full House and its sequel series Fuller House - has weighed in.
The 48-year-old shared an Instagram video on Sunday (July 28), saying: “It felt too important not to [speak up] and I love the Olympic Games, I love them. My husband [Val Bure] is a two-time Olympic medalist, so is my brother-in-law, and my father-in-law is a three-time Olympic medalist."
“I have many friends that have competed in Games over the years and it’s something as a kid I have always loved… the Olympic Games have always brought me so much joy," she added.
Watch Bure's video below:
Bure said the Olympics is the opportunity for the "best athletes in the world" to compete for the title, so "to watch such an incredible event that’s going to take place over the next two weeks and see the opening ceremonies complexly blasphemed and mock the Christian faith with their interpretation of the Last Supper was disgusting".
“It made me so sad and someone said, ‘You shouldn’t be sad. You should be mad about it,’” the Full House alum continued. “I’m like, ‘Trust me, it makes me mad, but I’m more sad because I’m sad for souls.’"
"I pray for my heart to break over what breaks God’s heart and I just think about all the people that have rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ or don’t know the gospel of Jesus Christ.
"In the Bible, in Galatians, it says, ‘God is not mocked for whatever a person sows he will also reap because the one who sows … will reap destruction from the flesh,'" she added.
The actress continued her video by encouraging her followers to "keep sharing the gospel" with everyone, even those part of the Christian faith.
"There’s Christians out there that say, ‘Well I’m a Christian, it didn’t really bother me,'" she explained. "Those people need to hear the gospel too. It’s the ones that are lukewarm about it that may think like, ‘Ah - I don’t want to ruffle any feathers."
"Live and let live. Let people do what they want. I’m just gonna stay in my corner and be quiet about it,'” she concluded.
After the backlash online, Thomas Jolly, the Opening Ceremony's director, refuted claims that the performance represented The Last Supper, explaining that his inspiration came from the Feast of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.
“My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” he said, as cited by News.com.au. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”
The Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps also addressed the outrage, telling reporters on Sunday (July 28): "Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. If people have taken any offense, we are of course really, really sorry."
Meanwhile, Barabara Butch - the DJ at the center of the controversial performance - announced that she will file legal complaints over the abuse she has suffered since the ceremony aired.
"All my life, I’ve refused to be a victim: I won’t shut up," she said in a statement on Instagram. "I’m not afraid of those who hide behind a screen, or a pseudonym, to spew their hatred and frustrations. I will fight them without ever trembling."
"I’m committed, and I’m 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!" she added.
