The news that Snoop Dogg, an American rapper, will be carrying the Olympic torch just before the start of the opening ceremony this weekend is something many aren’t too happy about. But stirring far more controversy than that of Mr. Dogg are the three French drag queens who carried the torch last week as part of the Olympic torch relay. The route started in Greece, worked its way to France, and ended in the city of Paris where the 2024 Olympics will be held. And yet, even with 10,000 total torchbearers, the three drag queens — Nicky Doll, Miss Martini, and Minima Gesté — seem to have stolen most of the attention.
While some left-wing voices spoke out concerning their support for the men dressed as “hyper-sexualized” women, there appears to be strong backlash. One user on X posted, “Two men arriving with the Olympic flame. The erasure of women in all spheres of public life continues.” Another described it as “absurd” and another act in “the theatre of madness.”
One passionate user wrote, “[I]t’s time to fight back. When you’ve got a Drag Queen … helping carry the Olympic torch, your culture has been captured by brain rot and it’s time to purge yourself of the disease. I will not be watching any further Olympics while this degeneracy is on display.” And some expressed concern about its effects on minors. They stated, “Before the children of the world, a drag queen is [carrying] the Olympic Torch. A selfish and sin-centered people don’t care about the children, they lust to corrupt the children, conform the children into their image.”
Actor and author Kevin Sorbo chimed in with his own post, stating, “Nothing says Olympic Games than a drag queen carrying the Olympic torch.” And amid the flood of those who disapprove of the drag queen torchbearers are several calls to boycott the Olympics. Some recalled and compared this to the worldwide Bud Light boycotts of 2023 after the company partnered with a transgender-identifying man.
Beyond the realm of social media, French politician Marion Marechal spoke out against the inclusion of men in drag, emphasizing their participation was not a “good way of representing France to the world.” OutKick’s Ian Miller wrote of the circumstances, “Carrying the Olympic Torch is widely viewed as [an] honor, reserved for athletes, dignitaries or other notable public figures. … But in yet another sign of how modern culture degrades and denigrates important traditions in order to appease extreme elements of society, the 2024 Paris Olympics are starting with an insulting addition to the torch-bearer ranks: a drag queen.” Miller asserted, “It’s offensive, and frankly inexcusable.”
Although many are disappointed by the pick of torchbearers, it seems gender politics were already a part of the 2024 Olympics long before the three drag queens got ahold of the Olympic flame. Back in January, infamous trans-identifying swimmer Lia Thomas “secretly” sued World Aquatics and their policy that blocked trans-identifying men from women’s swimming events. And in June, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled to dismiss the challenge presented by Thomas. It was “definitely a step in the right direction,” said Mary Szoch, Family Research Council’s director of the Center for Human Dignity.
And it’s that decision, as well as the 2024 Olympics overall, that “should reinvigorate the fight to protect Title IX” — at least, that’s the message Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines are proclaiming. In a joint article published on The Daily Wire, the women wrote, “The war against women is no longer hypothetical, and while Lia Thomas may have lost the battle this time, the Left’s persistence knows no bounds.” Ultimately, “Allowing males to compete against females will be the new norm for Americans competing at every level — including at the 2028 Olympics — if something isn’t done.”
And so, in order to prevent apathy on the issue, they urged readers to “keep up the fight — whether it’s in Washington, in the media, or in the sports arena.” As they emphasized, “Future generations of girls depend on us to preserve the equality that generations before us fought so hard to achieve.”
In comment to The Washington Stand, Szoch offered her thoughts on the matter. “Including drag queens in the Olympic torch relay promotes the lie that being a woman is a choice — not a biological reality,” she said. “The Olympics is meant to celebrate the values of fair play, hard work, sportsmanship, and athletic prowess.” And yet, she concluded, “Men dressed as hyper-sexualized versions of women taking the place of women in the torch relay is just one more example of the harm that comes from denying the truth of biology.”
Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.