PARIS (AP) — A storm of indignation over the Olympic Games in Paris The opening ceremony — which included angry comments from Donald Trump — took a legal twist on Tuesday, with French prosecutors ordering police to investigate complaints from a DJ and LGBTQ+ icon who performed.

DJ Barbara Butch said she faced a flood of online threats and abuse after a controversial scene at the Games’ opening ceremony. A lawyer for Butch told The Associated Press she had filed a formal legal complaint alleging online harassment, death threats and insults. The lawyer, Audrey Msellati, said the complaint did not name a specific perpetrator or perpetrators of the alleged crimes.

The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed it had received Butch’s complaint and said it had tasked a police unit specializing in combating hate crimes to investigate. The police investigation will focus on “discriminatory messages based on religion or sexual orientation that were sent to her or posted online,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Although the ceremony Artistic Director Thomas Jolly has repeatedly said that he was not inspired by “The Last Supper”, critics interpreted some of the show in which Butch was depicted as a parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of Jesus Christ and his apostles. Butch, who calls herself a “love activist,” wore a silver headdress that resembled a halo as she hosted a party during her portion of the show. Drag performers, dancers and others flanked Butch on either side.

Trump said in the United States on Monday that he thought it was “a disgrace.”

“I’m very open to it,” the former president and current Republican candidate told Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who specifically asked about comparisons to “The Last Supper,” “but I thought what they did was a disgrace.”

Among those who said Christians were hurt and offended were French Catholic bishops. The organizers of the Paris Olympic Games have said there was “never any intention to disrespect any religious group” and that the intention was to “celebrate the tolerance of the community.”

Jolly said he saw the moment as a celebration of diversity and that the table where Butch played her music was a tribute to partying and French gastronomy.

“My wish is not to be subversive, nor to mock or shock,” Jolly said. “I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”

Executor Philippe Katerine, who appeared in the following scene painted in blue and almost naked as a tribute to Dionysus, also told the newspaper Le Monde that there was no reference to “The Last Supper” at all in the preparations for the overall sketch.

In a statement of his own, posted to Instagram, Butch said: “No matter what some may say, I exist. I have never been ashamed of who I am and I take responsibility for everything – including my artistic choices. My entire life I have refused to be a victim: I will not keep my mouth shut.”

She said she felt “very honored” to perform at Friday’s ceremony and “my heart is still full of joy.”

“I am committed and I am proud. Proud of who I am, of what I am and of what I embody, both for my loved ones and for millions of French people. My France is France!” she wrote.

In an AP interview Tuesday, Msellati described Butch as someone with a “fighting spirit” — eager to defend herself and her choices, and still very proud of her participation. “She has no regrets, even now,” the lawyer said.

She said hate messages targeting Butch come in “almost every minute” and that Jolly and the ceremony’s drag queens have also been the targets of cyberbullying.

“We’re going to stand up together against this cyberbullying, which is simultaneously anti-Semitic, homophobic, fat-phobic and all those kinds of things,” she said.

The lawyer also said in an earlier statement that legal complaints would be filed regardless of “whether they are committed by French citizens or foreigners” and that Butch “intends to prosecute in the future anyone who attempts to intimidate her.”

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AP journalists Nicolas Vaux-Montagny and Kwiyeon Ha contributed reporting.

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For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.