Barbara Butch carries the Paralympic torch to defy hate

PARIS –

French performer Barbara Butch carried the Paralympic torch Sunday evening in an act of defiance after being targeted by hate speech over her appearance in 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 LGBTQ2S+ icon said in an interview with broadcaster France Info before walking onstage with the torch at a musical event in Saint-Cloud, a western suburb of Paris. “I know I represent France in the same way as anyone else,” she added.

The performer filed a formal legal complaint alleging online abuse after suffering online harassment, death threats and insults following her performance in the July 26 Olympics opening show. Five other artists and performers, including the ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, made similar complaints after suffering a torrent of abuse.

Butch said she has received “tens of thousands of hate messages.” A specialized team has managed to identify “hundreds of people who had sent … the most violet messages,” she said.

“Justice will do its job and then we will tackle the international level,” Butch said.

Butch was among nearly 1,000 torch bearers – who will carry the Paralympic flame, split between 12 torches, to 50 cities across France in the next few days to highlight communities that are committed to promoting inclusion in sport and building awareness of living with disabilities.

Other torch bearers include former Paralympians, young para athletes, volunteers from Paralympic federations, innovators of advanced technological support, people who dedicate their lives to others with impairments and people who work in the non-profit sector to support carers.

The 12 flames will become one again when the relay ends in central Paris on Wednesday after visiting historical sites along the city’s famed boulevards and plazas before lightening the cauldron during the three-hour opening ceremony.