The Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony had viewers dumbfounded when they saw an almost nude blue man singing in French while lying on a giant fruit platter.
This bizarre sight left many in splits and social media was flooded with memes with users comparing the singer to Papa Smurf, an Avatar and Iggle Piggle from children’s TV show “In The Night Garden.”
It was revealed that the man with blue paint anointed on his body was a French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine and was representing Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, festivity and theatre.
French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine is a cult figure in France and is regarded as a national treasure.
The French people were delighted to see him introduced to the world in this peculiar way.
The 55-year-old’s songs are popular with French people and some of his popular songs include ‘Mon cœur balance’, ‘Je vous emmerde’, and ‘Louxor j’adore’
French people on X, formerly Twitter, seem to view Phillippe as a national treasure and were delighted to see him introduced to the wider world in this peculiar way, dubbing it the result of ‘the French genius’.
One wrote:
‘1 billion human beings who discovered Phillippe Katerine in this way, that’s my France’.
Phillippe Katerine started his singing career in 1991 and his music was an amalgam of bossa nova accents and humour. He later also got involved into other genres such as rock and electronic.
In 2010 he started his acting career and was much acclaimed for his portrayal of Boris Vian in the biopic Gainsbourg, A Heroic Life, by Joann Sfar. He also starred in the offbeat comedy “I Am a No Man’s Land” and in 2015 and also played the role of a state in the comedy “Gaz de France.”
However many did not approve of the portrayal of Greek God Dionysus in this manner.
One social media user wrote
‘This is not France.’
Another wrote: ‘If I dream about a blue naked man chasing me today singing in French… you know why.’
One user joked: ‘Can this get any worse! Avatar meets smurf remake.’
However the official Olympic Games account explained the performance on X and tweeted,
‘The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.’
There were other performances also which raised a few eyebrows. There was Blonde-bearded drag queen Piche crawling on all fours who was gyrating to the beats of “Freed From Desire” by singer-songwriter Gala, who has long been a potent voice against homophobia.
There was also a scene depicting a threesome and thankfully the protagonists slammed the door shut before the scene became too sleazy.
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