French DJ Barbara Butch has taken legal steps against online abuse after the Games opening ceremony sparked major controversy
Barbara Butch, the French DJ who performed during the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony, has filed a legal complaint after receiving a wave of abuse online. The local LGBTQ community icon claims to have received numerous threats.
The activist at the center of the storm over the opening ceremony performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics that critics claim mocked “The Last Supper” took to Instagram earlier this week to announce having become “the target of yet another – particularly violent – cyber harassment.”
Butch posted a letter signed by lawyer Audrey Msellati that reads that the DJ had faced “threats of death, torture and rape”, as well as a wave of “anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist and fatphobic insults.”
“She is today filing several complaints against these acts, whether committed by French nationals or foreigners, and intends to prosecute anyone who tries to intimidate her in the future,” the document reads.
The complaint was filed with the Paris prosecutor’s office, which is expected to decide whether a formal police investigation is warranted, The Associated Press first reported on Tuesday.
The prosecutor’s office reportedly confirmed receiving Butch’s complaint, and told the news agency that a police unit that specializes in fighting hate crimes was tasked to investigate the issue. The police probe is expected to focus on “discriminatory messages based on religion or sexual orientation that were sent to her or posted online,” the office said.
Butch, a self-proclaimed “love activist”, wore a silver headdress that resembled a halo while flanked by drag artists, dancers and others during the controversial opening ceremony scene alleged to have mocked “The Last Supper.”
Christians from across the world have protested against the Paris organizers’ decision to conclude the opening ceremonies with a scene resembling Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper.’ The Renaissance painter’s famous depiction of Jesus Christ and his apostles was seen as reimagined as a Bacchanalia involving drag queens, homosexuals and transsexuals.
