French DJ and LGBTQ+ icon carries Paralympic torch to defy hate she received during ceremony
PARIS — French artist Barbara Butch has worn the Paralympic torch On Sunday night, in an act of defiance after being the target of hate speech over his appearance on the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
“I chose not to be afraid to exist in the public space,” Barbara Butch, a popular DJ and LGBTQ+ icon, said in an interview with France Info television before taking the stage with the torch at a music event in Saint-Cloud, a suburb west of Paris. “I know that I represent France in the same way as anyone else,” she added.
The artist has filed an official complaint for online abuse after being subjected to online harassment, death threats and insults following his performance at the opening show of the Olympic Games on July 26. Five other artists and performers, including the ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, have filed similar complaints after being subjected to a torrent of insults.
Butch said she received “tens of thousands of hateful messages.” A specialized team was able to identify “hundreds of people who had sent… the most virulent messages,” she said.
“Justice will do its job and then we will take it to the international level,” Butch said.
Butch was among nearly 1,000 torchbearers who will carry the Paralympic flame, split between 12 torches, to 50 cities across France over the coming days to shine a spotlight on communities committed to promoting inclusion in sport and raising awareness about life with a disability.
Other torchbearers include former Paralympians, young Para-athletes, Paralympic Federation volunteers, innovators in advanced technology support, people who dedicate their lives to others with disabilities, and people who work in the not-for-profit sector to support caregivers.
The 12 flames will become one when the relay ends in central Paris on Wednesday, after visiting historic sites along the city’s famous boulevards and squares before lighting the cauldron during the three-hour opening ceremony.
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