Joe Duplantier of Gojira defended his band against accusations of satanism following their performance at the Olympic Games opening ceremony on July 26.
Gojira performed the French Revolutionary song ‘Ah! Ça Ira’ with opera singer Marina Viotti and used beheaded figures to represent Queen Marie Antoinette. This upset some Christians online, who called it ‘satanic.’ Even Andrew Tate made similar comments. Duplantier responded in a new interview with Rolling Stone:
“It’s none of that. It’s French history. It’s French charm, you know, beheaded people, red wine, and blood all over the place — it’s romantic, it’s normal. There’s nothing satanic [Laughs].”
The frontman went on to talk about what it meant in France:
“France is a country that made a separation between the state and religion during the revolution. And it’s something very important, very dear to the foundation of republican France. We call it laïcité. It’s when the state is not religious anymore, so therefore it’s free in terms of expression and symbolism. It’s all about history and facts. We don’t look too close closely at symbolism in terms of religion.”
What Did Tate Say?
Sharing a clip of Gojira’s performance, Tate wrote on X:
“Satanists control the west and they show you that they worship the devil. It’s not a conspiracy theory. They literally show you. Are you blind?”
He added in a separate post:
“I’m genuinely enraged by this Olympic opening. These evil scum have absolutely zero respect. They mock us so openly. When will people WAKE UP.”
Metal Fans Don’t Think The Performance Was Satanic
Gojira was the first metal band to play at the Olympics. Fans enjoyed the performance, and they also poked fun at critics who are calling the band’s Olympics opening ceremony performance ‘satanic.’ One person said:
“Gojira getting accused of doing Satanic rituals…metal is so back..”
Another fan wrote:
“This Satanic Panic stuff is so 1983 lol. The severed head is the French Revolution. And the band, Gojira, make really wholesome songs about nature, cleaning up garbage, saving the whales, protecting forests etc.. calm the f*ck down.”
The opening ceremony also faced criticism due to a scene with dancers, drag queens, and a DJ that reminded people of the ‘Last Supper,’ the final meal of Jesus with his apostles. Paris Olympics organizers later said they were sorry if their opening ceremony upset anyone, but they denied trying to disrespect any religious group.
