Italian Bar Catches Heat For Gay 'Last Supper' Poster
A bar in Salerno has been hosting gay nights every Thursday for years without trouble or anybody really noticing, but this week they decided to advertise the party with a poster that referenced Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, and now some people are very angry.
According to The Local, the weekly gay nights are hosted by a group called DiverCity at a bar called Caffe Verdi in Salerno. This week's event happens to fall on Holy Thursday, which celebrates the day Jesus and his disciples celebrated the Last Supper. To advertise the event, DiverCity made up posters with their version of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, except in this version Jesus is shirtless and tattooed, and the men at the table around him are shirtless and kissing, and sometimes doing a lot more than kissing.
A lot of people seem to have a big problem with the posters. The restaurant's Facebook page has been overrun by one-star reviews. Representatives of two local political groups called for the event to be cancelled because of "bad taste."
The furor does not appear to have changed any of the organizers' minds.
DiverCity said on its Facebook page that, "we want to reaffirm the respect for others' opinions, but equally we reiterate with force and conviction our freedom to live and enjoy ourselves as we see fit."
Caffe Verdi also issued a statement of support, saying that as a business they respect secularism and freedom of expression, and that DiverCity has hosted events at their bar for two years without causing any damage or trouble of any kind. Both organizers say the event will go forward as planned.