Polish Broadcaster Suspended For Saying John Lennon's 'Imagine' Is A 'Vision Of Communism'

For better or worse, the Olympic opening ceremony got people talking… unless you're the Polish broadcaster who got suspended for talking about it.

There were all kinds of nonsense in the opening ceremony. Sure, Gojira was awesome, but the Last Supper with drag queens? That was a bit much for any normal person's taste.

But for Polish broadcaster Przemyslaw Babiarz, he had an issue with the inclusion of the John Lennon song "Imagine," and not just because that song is wildly overrated, but because he said it was a "vision of communism."

"This is a vision of communism, unfortunately," Babiarz said of the song, according to the Associated Press, and that immediately caused a kerfuffle in Poland, a nation that knows a thing or two about communism.

But… while I don't think that this is necessarily what Lennon was going for… it sure does seem that Babiarz kind of has a point.

The opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris has proven to be wildly controversial on several fronts. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)

If you skim through the lyrics — stuff like "Nothing to kill or die for/And no religion, too" and "Imagine no possessions" — sounds like something any college sophomore digging into Marxist ideologies in an attempt to piss off mom and dad would be pretty pumped about.

In fact, Lennon basically confirmed this.

"‘Imagine,’ which says, ‘Imagine that there was no more religion, no more country, no more politics,’ is virtually "The Communist Manifesto,’" Lennon was once quoted as saying, per an essay by writer Kenneth Womack. "Even though I’m not particularly a Communist, and I do not belong to any movement."

And while Poland is no longer under communist control, Babiarz's comments — which came on TVP, a state broadcast network — sure ended up with him getting a vaguely authoritarian punishment for stating what looks to be a fact: no more Olympics.

"Mutual understanding, tolerance, reconciliation — these are not only the basic ideas of the Olympics, but they are also the foundation of the standards that guide the new Polish Television. There is no consent to violate them."

Whoa, whoa, whoa… the Olympics are about "mutual understanding, tolerance, and reconciliation,' huh? Is that why they tried to alienate a very significant portion of the global audience by clowning the Last Supper by replacing Jesus and the Apostles with a fat lady and drag performers?

Which tenant — mutual understanding, tolerance, or reconciliation — was that? 

Just wondering…

Babiarz said nothing wrong. Plus, you'd think Polish broadcasters would have a better understanding of why someone who I'm assuming grew up under communist rule, would be concerned about that sort of ideology seeping into one of the biggest events in the world.

It was a moment for discussion, if anything. Not a time to make him pack his bags.