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Wild Olympic closing ceremonies with Tom Cruise and Snoop Dogg trigger more controversy

August 12, 2024 | | Print Article

“California Dreamin” waved au revoir to the nightmarish Paris Olympics in a closing ceremony embodying Tinseltown with stunts and stars that were not without a tad more controversy.

Since the blasphemous opening ceremony, the 2024 Olympic Games were witness to other low points that included an E. coli-contaminated triathlon, gender ideology-tainted women’s boxing, and a spat among gymnasts. Helping to put those moments in the past as the torch was passed to the next host city, performances from the likes of Snoop Dogg and H.E.R. were outshined by Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible” stadium jump.

The 62-year-old actor and producer embodied Hollywood during the handover ceremony as he rappelled from the roof of Stade de France to the cheers of all gathered.

Met with high fives and selfies, the star known for pushing the envelope was met by renowned gymnast Simone Biles and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) who presented him with the Olympic flag. Cruise then rode a motorcycle away leading into a previously recorded ride through Paris and a skydive return to the Golden State.

The handoff sent the broadcast to Venice Beach, California where the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, and Snoop beside Dr. Dre foreshadowed the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

While they offered contributions from their own catalogs, Grammy Award-winning R&B artist H.E.R. stirred attendees in France with her rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in advance of a fireworks show seen encircling the roof of the stadium.

Of course, like the opening ceremony, the close to the Paris Olympics was not without issue interspersed with a suspended pianist and acrobats as some countries felt snubbed by the design of the stage.

The stylized world map, pieced together with geometric shapes, left out a number of island nations including New Zealand, a point of contention for the country that surpassed Australia with medals on a per capita basis.

Additionally, as the pagan feast of Dionysus led many to boycott the games altogether for mimicking Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” in an anti-Christian manner, including men dressed as women in lewd outfits, observers couldn’t help but find a similar theme in the closing ceremony.

Dubbed the “golden voyager,” a figure was lowered onto the stage and then presented with a Greek flag honoring the origins of the Olympics. The flag was handed over by a cloaked figure while the golden character admired a headless statue representing Nike.

While some accepted the interpretation of the voyager as an alien observing the tradition, others couldn’t help but see similarities to Satan being cast out from heaven as some suggested that it had “begun with satanic rituals, so it must end with satanic rituals.”

Kevin Haggerty
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