Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he had to decline an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris last Friday after finding out that the event would be used to promote LGBTQ propaganda.
Erdoğan, who spoke at a meeting of his party on Tuesday, said he was willing to attend the ceremony after receiving the invitation but gave up the idea after his 13-year-old granddaughter warned him not to go, saying the event would include some LGBTQ features by showing him some images on Instagram.
Held along the Seine River, the spectacular four-hour event featured global stars such as Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, both considered queer icons. The event also showcased French DJ and producer Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon.
The Paris 2024 Olympics broke a record by having 193 openly LGBTQ+ athletes competing, according to Outsports, a website compiling a database of openly queer Olympians. The count surpassed the 186 athletes at the COVID-19-delayed Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.
“Can you imagine it, an international sports event that was supposed to unite people was inaugurated with enmity towards humanity, human nature and values. In our faith, a human is the most sacred among all created. What was aimed at in Paris is a project to reduce humans to a level lower than animals,” Erdoğan said.
He slammed the organizers of the Olympic Games for using the event to promote “perversion” that ruin families and put future generations at risk.
“The LGBT lobby has taken the West hostage,” Erdoğan, who is notorious for his public attacks on the LGBTQ community, added.
The Turkish president was also critical of the event due to its alleged attack on Christian values, which he described as “immorality against all Christians,” and said he would call Pope Francis to discuss the issue.
A scene during Friday’s showpiece event featured dancers and drag queens reminiscent of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus is said to have shared with his apostles.
Organizers have said they intended to portray a pagan feast and meant no offense, but Catholic groups and US presidential candidate Donald Trump were among critics slamming the act as a disrespectful parody, according to Agence France-Presse.
“I will call the pope as soon as possible to share with him the immorality committed against the Christian world and against all Christians,” Erdoğan told his party members.