The Paris Olympics find themselves still in hot water over some aspects of the opening ceremony. However, fan backlash often exists as a bit of turbulence but nothing that they can't shake off. It's a different issue entirely when ad revenue starts dwindling down. This United States based tech company hits the Paris Olympics where it hurts: their wallets.
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Recently, Mississippi tech company takes to X (also known as Twitter) in response to the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. More specifically, they take issue with its invocation of the Last Supper and its use of drag queens and dancers. Many viewers find the parody to be a mockery of Christian values, not to mention the disastrous wardrobe malfunctions that blinds the audience at home.
Consequently, C Spire takes their tech advertisements elsewhere. They post, "We were shocked by the mockery of the Last Supper during the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics. C Spire will be pulling our advertising from the Olympics."
US Tech Company C Spire Pulls Out of Olympics Amidst Contentious Opening Ceremony
Ultimately, this feels like a little reactionary from C Spire, notably because they're a tech company from Mississippi. Moreover, it's not all that surprising that they react in solidarity with their base, even if it isolates some of the LGBTQ crowd in the process.
Additionally, the big tech company gains support from many religious conservatives, the governor of Mississippi in particular. "I am proud to see the private sector in Mississippi step up and put their foot down. God will not be mocked. C Spire drew a common-sense, appropriate line," Tate Reeves tweets.
In contrast to the Mississippi tech company, the creative director Thomas Jolly for the opening ceremony stresses the importance of diversity and inclusion. ""Our subject was not to be subversive. We never wanted to be subversive. We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together," Jolly says. "We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that. In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn't have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are republic, we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshippers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey."