September 27 2025, 08:15 
Five men, ages 24 to 57, are standing trial in Paris for online messages they allegedly sent to lesbian DJ Barbara Butch for her participation in the Olympic opening ceremony last year.
“We’re going to get you, fatso,” “Die whore,” “You will pay,” and “You’d better watch what you do, b**ch,” were some of the messages they’re accused of sending Barbara Butch on Instagram following her participation in the ceremony that conservatives all over the world hated because they believed it mocked Da Vinci’s Last Supper, even though it was really a tribute to Greek mythology.
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The harassment followed the performance on the Seine River in Paris, which featured drag queens, a performance by Lady Gaga, and a scene that detractors described as a sacrilegious depiction of Jesus’ Last Supper. Thomas Jolly, the artistic director for the opening ceremonies, denied that the tableau represented The Last Supper and was meant to depict a Dionysian feast.
The current U.S. president, a candidate at the time, called the ceremony a “disgrace.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called it a “mockery.”
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“It was like, at every step, I was getting punched in the face,” Butch testified at the tribunal in Paris yesterday, reports têtu. “It left a hole in my heart. I got called ‘dirty Jew’ as well as ‘dirty lesbian’ and ‘dirty fatty.'” She explained that other artists she worked with faced harassment because of her performance as well. She says she stopped having periods, started having panic attacks, and developed agoraphobia.
The men are now facing charges of cyberharassment, and one is also facing a charge of death threats with a bias crimes enhancement for targeting someone based on sexual orientation.
The defendants aren’t denying that they sent the hateful messages to Butch. Instead, they’re arguing that the messages aren’t cyberharassment. Their attorneys said that the standard of proof for cyberharassment wasn’t met at the trial and that the charges should be dropped.
“You do realize that your performance could have hurt people?” one of the defense attorneys asked Butch at the trial.
“The only thing that hurt your client was to see fat people, dykes, queers, and people of color in front of the whole of France,” Butch responded.
Other defendants testified.
“I don’t see the message as threatening or as harassment,” said one defendant, identified as Simon O., a student in hotel management.
“I wanted her to understand that she caused people pain,” said Pierre-Philippe B., director of acquisitions for a large business. Both Simon and Pierre-Philippe said that they were actually the victims here because their Christian sensibilities were offended.
Two of the defendants – Adrien L., a nurse’s assistant, and Alexis G. – apologized for their messages. Adrien said that his comments were a result of social isolation and alcohol, and mentioned his own bisexuality. Alexis just said that he didn’t know other people were sending Butch messages as well.
The fifth defendant, Jordan S., who goes by “LGBT remover” on Instagram and is the one facing the extra charge of death threats, didn’t attend the proceedings.
Prosecutors are asking the court to make the defendants attend workshops about online hate and impose a three to six-month’ suspended sentence for the four defendants who were present. For Jordan, they asked for eight months, not suspended.
“I’ll remember that there were apologies and I believe they were sincere,” Butch told têtu after the trial. “I was hoping to get them to understand what they did, but I don’t think that will do anything now.”
“The goal is to get people to see that there are consequences, and that that’ll stop them.”
The court’s decision is expected to be announced on November 21.
“I didn’t set out to mock any religion,” Jolly said of the performance at the time. “My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock. Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion, and not at all to divide.”
Butch later carried the torch for the Paralympics after the Olympics were over last year. “I chose not to be afraid of existing in public space,” she said at the time.
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