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French DJ Barbara Butch has filed several complaints after receiving an onslaught of hate online for participating in the Olympics opening ceremony.
Barbara Butch won't let anti-LGBTQ+ hate intimidate her — no matter who's sending it.
The French DJ and LGBTQ+ rights activist is speaking out about the onslaught of online harassment she's received after participating in the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on Friday. Butch was among several queer artists and drag performers who were featured during the four-hour ceremony, in which the group briefly posed together at a table.
Conservatives online became outraged after drawing comparisons between the pose and Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting, The Last Supper, accusing the performers of mocking Christianity. Even prominent U.S. lawmakers added to the fire, with Republican speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson calling the performance "shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world."
Butch has since revealed that she's received a slew of hate online since the ceremony, including threats of "death, torture, and rape." Audrey Msellati, Butch's attorney, said in a statement on the DJ's Instagram that she has also received "numerous anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist and grossophobic insults.”
"As you know, my commitment has always been to make everyone dance, and in my own small way to make a nation on the dancefloor," Butch wrote. "Through my DJ work and my activism, I’ve always promoted love and inclusivity — for me, this is what will save the world, even when it’s falling apart. Today, however, I’m the target of yet another — particularly violent — cyber-harassment."
Butch added that while "at first I decided not to speak out to let the haters cool down, the messages I receive are increasingly extreme." The violence has compelled her to not only speak publicly, but to take legal action against those responsible. Msellati said that Butch has filed “several complaints" and that she will continue to push back against the acts "whether committed by French nationals or foreigners, and intends to prosecute anyone who tries to intimidate her in the future.”
"All my life, I’ve refused to be a victim: I won’t shut up," Butch said. "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 !"
