Candace Cameron Bure shared her thoughts about the opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
This year’s ceremony drew controversy for featuring a drag show performance which many believed to be a parody of Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” interpreting Jesus Christ sharing his last meal with his apostles before his crucifixion. The segment included drag queens and a nude singer.
“I didn’t really want to weigh in on the Olympics opening ceremony publicly because—I always risk it becoming a headline. But it felt too important not to,” Mrs. Bure started in the video.
“I love the Olympic Games,” she said, noting that her husband, Valeri Bure, brother-in-law, and father-in-law, were Olympic medalists. She also recalled childhood memories of watching marathon runners during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“So to watch such an incredible and wonderful event that’s gonna take place over the next two weeks and see the opening ceremonies completely blaspheme and mock the Christian faith with their interpretation of the Last Supper was disgusting,” the “Full House” star said.
“And it made me so sad. And someone said, ‘You shouldn’t be sad. You should be mad about it.’ And I’m like, ‘Trust me. It makes me mad.’ But I’m more sad because I’m sad for souls,” she said.
Mrs. Bure concluded her video by saying she plans to watch the Paris Olympics to support the Christian athletes competing.
“There are a lot of great Christian athletes competing as well, but I want to cheer them on. I want to see God getting the glory. And I’m going to watch,” she said, noting that the athletes weren’t involved in organizing the opening ceremony.
In the caption alongside her post, Mrs. Bure wrote that many tried to correct her stance on the opening ceremony, saying that the performance wasn’t an interpretation of DaVinci’s “The Last Supper” painting. She said she’s “not buying it.”
“I still don’t see how that relates to unifying the world through competitive sports and acceptable for children to watch,” she wrote in her caption.
Candace Cameron Bure received her big break after appearing on the hit sitcom “Full House,” which debuted in 1987. She went on to co-host “50 Cutest Child Stars: All Grown Up” and star in “The Wager” (2007) and the Hallmark film “Moonlight and Mistletoe” (2008).
After appearing in over a dozen films for the Hallmark Channel, Mrs. Bure left the network and took on an executive role at Great American Family in 2022 where she plans to create and star in films.
Following the opening ceremony, thousands of social media users said they would boycott the Olympic Games with many using boycott-related hashtags to express their disapproval.
During a July 28 news conference, Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps responded to the intense backlash toward the ceremony and apologized.
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. [The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance,” she said.
“Looking at the result of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry.”
