Three drag queens relayed the iconic Olympic torch ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, with the mayor slamming critics as "transphobic.".The Paris 2024 pledged this year's games to be more "diverse" than ever before. One of the final torch bearers before the opening ceremony will be Snoop Dogg, who arrived in Paris Tuesday. Kevin Piette, rendered paraplegic after an accident, also carried the torch, making history as the first to ever do so wearing an exoskeleton.. Video footage of the three drag queens, who go by the names Miss Martini, Nicky Doll and Minima Gesté, who is a former wrestler, has circulated online, sparking vehement pushback. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said she “reaffirms (her) full support” for 33-year-old Gesté’s role carrying the torch. Gesté, whose exaggeratedly feminine costume includes 10-inch heels, was specifically chosen for the role by the city. “I'll say it again: I am proud and, yes, Paris is proud that a drag queen will carry the torch and the values of peace and humanity," said the mayor, per France 24. Hidalgo slammed critics for objecting to the drag queen’s carrying of the torch and said he is a victim of "homophobic and transphobic insults." Further, the mayor said she would help him launch legal action. "Having a drag queen carry the torch — and perhaps fall over, wait and see! — is an enormous source of pride," wrote Gesté on Instagram ahead of the relay. "One of the messages that I want to carry is the pride in my community because 10 years ago having a drag queen carry the torch would have been unimaginable.”He further joked that corsets and high heels, though physically demanding, are “not yet an Olympic sport." .French Member of European Parliament Marion Marechal said Gesté’s "particularly vulgar" and "hyper-sexualized performances" are not good for the people of France. "I don't think that this is a good way of representing France to the world," Marechal told local news channel TF1.Miss Martini according to his social media made history as the first drag queen to ever carry the Olympic flame.The next day, Nicky Doll, host of Drag Race France, took up the torch. “What an absolute honor to have carried the Olympic torch for Paris 2024!” he wrote on social media, before calling for a ceasefire in Palestine. “Even though I usually prefer to act on things rather than hope for them: I would like to use this opportunity to hope for the immediate ceasefire in Rafah and for dignity to be brought back to Palestine and its people who tremendously suffered throughout these awful times and beyond,” Doll wrote. Speaking to France 3 Provence-Alpes, Doll said carrying the torch would demonstrate drag queens are finally accepted in France, despite criticism from conservatives. “It’s a consecration for a drag queen,” he said. “It shows that we’re accepted by our beautiful country. The flame passes from hand to hand, with no concern for sexual orientation or profession.”"Conservatives have no choice but to accept people who are more colorful and more diverse."
Three drag queens relayed the iconic Olympic torch ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, with the mayor slamming critics as "transphobic.".The Paris 2024 pledged this year's games to be more "diverse" than ever before. One of the final torch bearers before the opening ceremony will be Snoop Dogg, who arrived in Paris Tuesday. Kevin Piette, rendered paraplegic after an accident, also carried the torch, making history as the first to ever do so wearing an exoskeleton.. Video footage of the three drag queens, who go by the names Miss Martini, Nicky Doll and Minima Gesté, who is a former wrestler, has circulated online, sparking vehement pushback. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said she “reaffirms (her) full support” for 33-year-old Gesté’s role carrying the torch. Gesté, whose exaggeratedly feminine costume includes 10-inch heels, was specifically chosen for the role by the city. “I'll say it again: I am proud and, yes, Paris is proud that a drag queen will carry the torch and the values of peace and humanity," said the mayor, per France 24. Hidalgo slammed critics for objecting to the drag queen’s carrying of the torch and said he is a victim of "homophobic and transphobic insults." Further, the mayor said she would help him launch legal action. "Having a drag queen carry the torch — and perhaps fall over, wait and see! — is an enormous source of pride," wrote Gesté on Instagram ahead of the relay. "One of the messages that I want to carry is the pride in my community because 10 years ago having a drag queen carry the torch would have been unimaginable.”He further joked that corsets and high heels, though physically demanding, are “not yet an Olympic sport." .French Member of European Parliament Marion Marechal said Gesté’s "particularly vulgar" and "hyper-sexualized performances" are not good for the people of France. "I don't think that this is a good way of representing France to the world," Marechal told local news channel TF1.Miss Martini according to his social media made history as the first drag queen to ever carry the Olympic flame.The next day, Nicky Doll, host of Drag Race France, took up the torch. “What an absolute honor to have carried the Olympic torch for Paris 2024!” he wrote on social media, before calling for a ceasefire in Palestine. “Even though I usually prefer to act on things rather than hope for them: I would like to use this opportunity to hope for the immediate ceasefire in Rafah and for dignity to be brought back to Palestine and its people who tremendously suffered throughout these awful times and beyond,” Doll wrote. Speaking to France 3 Provence-Alpes, Doll said carrying the torch would demonstrate drag queens are finally accepted in France, despite criticism from conservatives. “It’s a consecration for a drag queen,” he said. “It shows that we’re accepted by our beautiful country. The flame passes from hand to hand, with no concern for sexual orientation or profession.”"Conservatives have no choice but to accept people who are more colorful and more diverse."
