ISTANBUL, July 30 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that he refused to attend the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics due to LGBT* propaganda at the request of his granddaughter.
«(French President — ed.) Macron invited me to the opening of the Olympics, I said that I might come. My 13-year-old granddaughter told me, «Grandpa, don't go there.» I asked why, and she said, «They'll be showing LGBT* propaganda there.» She showed me a video from Instagram**. «Okay, granddaughter, I won't go,» I told her,» Erdogan said, speaking at the general staff of the ruling Justice and Development Party.
The president said that at the first opportunity he would call the Pope and share with him criticism of the «shame» that was displayed at the opening of the Olympics. According to Erdogan, this spectacle offended not only the Christian but also the Muslim world, and the «LGBT* lobby» that does not tolerate the slightest criticism has taken over the Western world.
Erdogan also singled out those who promote the «heresy» of LGBT*, but at the same time prohibit athletes from competing in hijabs.
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games took place on July 26. Social media users around the world were outraged by the participation of transvestites and representatives of the LGBT* community in the show, especially the parody of Leonardo da Vinci's «The Last Supper». Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova noted that one of the main performances of the Olympics was «LGBT* mockery of a sacred subject for Christians.» On Sunday, the director of communications for the organizing committee of the Games, Anne Descamps, apologized to people whose feelings may have been offended by some scenes from the opening ceremony, in particular the parody of the «Last Supper.»
French actor and singer Philippe Catherine said that he did not want to shock the public with the image of the god Dionysus at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and asked for forgiveness from Christians if they were offended by the image.
* Recognized in Russia as an extremist movement and banned.
** The activities of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) are banned in Russia as extremist.